"We saw some real miracles this week in Crateús!"

We have been working with Leo, Iris, Lais, and Hanna all week last week. They were a referral from Daiane, our RC. They were getting prepared for baptism last week, but they didn't feel ready to make the commitment. So, this week we'll be working with them a bit more to help them prepare for this week.

We also are working with a ton of less-actives here, especially Nicolas. He's the son of Irmã Silvia, who is super faithful, and looks like Blake Griffin haha. Ever since I got here, Irmã Silvia has been begging us to go over there and help out Nicolas. He's 19 years old, he got shot from drug trafficking 3 months ago, and is really passing through a lot of hard times. We've been passing by, building a friendship with him, and he's been opening up more and more to us. 

Until, Friday, we were just walking though the street and we ran into him and he said, "Hey, pass by my house on Sunday for me to go to church with yall!". Sunday, we passed by and he went to church for the first time in 9 years. In my gospel principles class, he participated, shared experiences, and he promised to start reading the book of mormon. Me and Elder Taylor said he's gonna be the next Branch President haha!

This week I learned a lot about managing time. As a missionary, there are very few days where you are in and out of appointments on time and make the best of the day. And there are many other days, where a member calls you needing something, or where you feel like you should pass by a RC, and your day just gets all jumbled up. 

No matter how much you try, there's always something that takes you off track. But, I learned that we need to attend to those little whispers that tell you to visit someone or knock a door and attend to members who need a blessing or just need someone to talk to. I learned that managing time means using the most of our time every day to help someone build their faith in Christ and not necessarily sticking to what we write in Daily Planning.

That's about it for this week!!

Abraço forte,

Elder Eliason

AÇAÍ por um ano!

Me and Taylor pretty as always

Os rapazesss (Young men)

"UM ANO! Here's to another year full of spiritual experiences, and a whole lot of work."

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Another week in the books. Also, this Wednesday, I'll be a year out on the mission. It's really weird to type that. It's crazy to think that a year from now I was entering the CTM nervous as heck.

This week was great!! We went to the zone conference all the way in Fortaleza which was 6 hours of traveling in a rackety bus. We went on Thursday, stayed at the secretary's house in Fortaleza (They got one nice house). They are some nice guys. After that, we went over to the zone conference. There, we learned all about Chapter 4 of PMG, which is how can I recognize the Spirit? I learned a whole lot. I remember when I got in the field, I had a lot of trouble of discerning whether an impression was spiritual or it was just me.

I remember one day in my first area, we had nothing to do, it had been a really bad week, but we decided to pray on where we should go. I felt that we should go visit a certain investigator that stopped progressing a couple weeks back. Me and my trainer Elder Momesso went over there and......... he wasn't home. We knocked again and again and no one was home. In frustration, I asked E. Momesso, "Why did God give me that prompting if it didn't work out?" And he said something I'll never forget. He said "Sometimes the Lord tests us to see if we are willing to follow the "weird" promptings he sends us. And when we are, he gives us more and more promptings." I'm thankful for my trainer and how he helped me recognize the Spirit.

This week, we had 2 baptisms Maria de Jesus and Giselle!!! They are best friends and were so excited to be baptized on the same day. I was lucky enough to baptize them both. They are just the sweetest little girls ever and have lots of friends who are interested to hear us as well!

UM ANO!!!! Here's to another year full of spiritual experiences, and a whole lot of work.

AMO VOCÊS, SE CUIDEM!

Abraço,

Elder Eliason

A HUGE Tarantula that we saw in the road, everyone that it was fake, but it was real. Fear was had by all.

BATISMOS

Zone Conference!

"President called me in to a room, and told me that I was going to be the 1st counselor in the Branch Presidency."

HELLO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

This week was a doozy.

So to start out, Yasmin and Mirela were baptized!! They are sisters, and friends of Alefe and Dudu. They really are super special. They couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive for their baptism, haha. It was great to see Alefe and Dudu helping us to teach them as well!!

On the other hand, Tatula and Valda fell through this week. Tatula decided that she wanted to stay in her church. Valda was interviewed for her baptism but it looks like we'll have to wait for the next couple weeks to help her resolve some things. Maria Jesus left early on Sunday to another city close by, so we just remarked her baptism for this Saturday, along with her friend Gisele, who went to church yesterday and loved it!!

This week, President came out to visit us and to see how the branch is going. President is super involved here, and we are in contact with him every week to help the branch out. He took us out to eat at a local burger restaurant that we ALWAYS wanted to eat at, but was too expensive. But, we knew that President was loaded, so we took our chance haha. He told us stories about how he got called to be a Mission President, how he got interviewed with President Eyring and Elder Bednar for 1 hour and a half each. Super cool, I would probably pee my pants in that interview. Had a lot of good laughs. 

After that, on Sunday, President called me in to a room, and told me that I was going to be the 1st counselor in the Branch Presidency. He told me that I would have to dedicate a lot of my time to help out Presidente Lima (the Branch President) because he's really struggling to hold the branch together. I would have to direct sacrament meetings, interview youth, meet with presidente every week, and help Presidente do everything right by the book because he is a bit inexperienced. I accepted and was sustained and ordained yesterday. Super excited to help out this branch in a more active role than ever!!

That's about it! Love you all!!!! BOA SEMANA PARA TODOS DE VOCÊS!

A big huge abraço,

Elder Eliason

Cut my finger cutting sausage, safe to say I have not yet mastered cooking yet on the mish.

I dyed his hair red (with permission from his mom, of course)

President Chamberlain!

MIRELA AND YASMIN!

General Conference!

Olá!!! 

General Conference was awesome and really inspiring. As a missionary, General Conference is like the Super Bowl for missionaries haha. To spice it up a little bit, Elder Taylor, Elder M. Costa, e Elder Guilherme tried to guess who would talk and which session. We had a whole point system that is too complicated to explain here haha. It was like March Madness but with General Conference. Elder Guilherme came in 1st and Elder M Costa and I tied for 2nd, with poor Elder Taylor bringing up the rear. He's a good sport.

We are currently teaching some really cool people at the moment. One of them is Maria de Jesus. I love her name so much. She is literally an angel sent from heaven. She absolutely loves reading the Book of Mormon and I love it when she tells us back the stories. She's only 10 years old but she sure is on of the elect. She's also helping us teach 3 of her sisters and her niece! She's gonna be the best missionary.

Then we have Tatula e Valda. Alright so Valda, has a whooolllee lot of questions and is super curious. We found her just making a random contact in the street one day with her sister Tatula. Every time we go and teach them, I see them growing bit by bit in the gospel. They have dates for this Sunday, but their answer from God is taking a bit longer than expected. But, they're doing their best to get prepared for this Sunday. I have complete assurance that God will answer their prayers. They were able to come to our little house church to watch General Conference, and they loved it!! They even brought a friend, who we'll be able to teach as well!

Back to General Conference. I had a lot of questions that I had thought of to bring to General Conference. After pondering, I had narrowed the questions down to one. And, as always, it was answered!! No one said anything that answered my question directly, but it was the Holy Ghost that whispered to me what I should do. I learned so much from the speakers as well, but the most treasured revelation I recieved came from the Spirit. Becuase the Spirit has a way of applying what's being said in your life, for me it usually comes as a "Hey, you need to do this more" or "Hey, have you ever thought of it this way?". 

I'm so grateful for a prophet and 12 apostles that guide His church, exactly how it was established with Christ. I know that Russell M Nelson is a prophet of God, and that he recieves revelation directly from God. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and it's wonderful teaching power. I know this Church is true!!

AMO TODOS DE VOCÊS!!!

Abraço forte,

Elder Eliason

Fotos:

1- Sick pic

2/3- Pics with Claubert, Samuel, Mateus, e Alessa

With Claubert, Samuel, Mateus, and Alessa

Testimony: A Mighty Gift

OI MEUS QUERIDOS

This week was a great one. Eduardo (Dudu), Alefe, and Daiane were baptized this week!! Also, the other Elders in Crateus baptized a family of 3. We're seeing so many blessings here in Crateus. I love this place.

Let me tell you the story behind them. So we found Alefe when he randomly burst into a house during one of our lessons. He said, "Later, can you guys pass by my house too?" So, later, we passed by and challenged him to recieve his answer that this Church is true and to follow this answer entering the waters of baptism. He said yes, and he's been to every activity the church has had since we talked to him. We even had to kick him out of seminary, because he is only 12 years old haha.

Dudu!! I love this kid. He is the chubby asian kid. He is the cutest little kid ever, also one of the smartest. He is a friend of Alefe who just showed up in one of our lessons. We taught him and he accepted everything. Now, we're trying to teach his mom as well! 

Daiane! So we were just walking in the street one day, and we passed by a house and Elder Taylor gave her a "bom dia", and I was like "Hey do you know her". He said that they had taught her everything, she knows that the church is true, but she doesn't want to be baptized. I said, "Let's go try again", so we walked back, I introduced myself and we gave her a lesson. When we gave the baptismal invitation, she hesitated and said "Not now". We insisted and insisted with her. After all the explaining we could do, she still didn't feel the need to be baptized. With nothing less to say, Elder Taylor and I gave her our testimonies. The Spirit was very strong, because we shared experiences in our lives that she could relate to. That's when a scripture came to mind, 

10 "Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"Mosiah 18:10

After the scripture, I asked her, what is stopping you from being baptized? She said, simply enough, "Nothing!". After, we marked her baptism for this Saturday!

I learned a very important lesson that day: That a strong and truthful testimony is the most powerful weapon we have as missionaries. Elder Taylor and I used all the tricks in the book, all of the scriptures we could find, everything. But that's not what Daiane needed. She needed to hear our testimonies and she needed to hear that scripture. I'm grateful for the Spirit that worked such a great miracle in her heart that day.

That's about it, hope you all have a great week!!