We had lots of miracles, big and small!

Wow! This week was really good! We had lots of miracles, big and small! We had a great Multi-Zone Conference with President Dalton! He´s doing such a good job! The number of baptisms already grew this week! We had THREE! There was lots of good stuff this week, including barbeque with a member of the bishopric! I don´t have much time, so I´ll go through the list of the people we are working with: Weverson He´s doing really good! He was baptized last Saturday! Now, we will focus on reactivating Vanessa and we´re going to try to mark his mom (who likes us again) for baptism! Jakeline and João Vitor and Ludimila and Camila She was baptized last minute on Sunday after church. Maria (see next couple) walked with her to church. Jakeline didn´t want to be baptized, but Maria challenged her to "be baptized and see if your life doesn´t change." So, Jakeline and her daughter Ludimila (9) were baptized. It was a really big surprise! So many miracles have been preparing her for this! Remember that she was my first real investigator in this area, four months ago! Now, we will help her son, João Vitor (12) be baptized this Sunday! Camila is too young to be baptized. Maria and Fred Maria is returning to church and bringing her young daughter (maybe 10). She is really happy that we are helping her come back, and that we helped Jakeline, her best friend, be baptized. She wants to give us lunch (next week) and have a family home evening. Fred, on the other hand, isn´t showing any interest in returning to church. Fred and Maria were sealed, and Maria is really frustrated that Fred doesn´t want to come back to church. We´ll find out what´s going on and we will help them. If necessary, we´ll hand them over to the bishop. Their son, Rarison (14), is very active in the church. Breno Thanks to help from his best friend, Mykail (an inactive member returning to activity), and Adilson, our favorite recent-convert, Breno will be baptized this Sunday. His mom already approved. He´s excited to be baptized, go to the temple, and serve a mission (he wants to go to Argentina). He´s thirteen years old and has two inactive brothers. His family doesn´t show interest in the church, yet. We´ll work on inviting them this week! This baptism will happen! Juvinal and Magda They are getting way better. We saw them holding hands going to church yesterday morning, and they say that their relationship is improving thanks to daily scripture reading and prayer as a couple. The lesson in the 3rd hour yesterday was Eternal Marriage! What a blessing! They stayed for all three meetings! We will try to take them to the city hall this Saturday and mark a date for them to get married and be baptized! Keep praying for them and us! We have a few more issues to resolve, but the situation is so much better! Gabriel and Guilharme They missed their ride to church. Gabriel is still super excited about the church, but Guilharme (who is just 8) is struggling to keep excited. We have a less-active sister, Selma (returning to activity), who is their ride. They won´t miss it next Sunday! Gabriel will turn 12 soon, and he will recieve the Priesthood. Their parents show little interest in the church, but maybe they will go to church to see Gabriel receive the priesthood. Others There are a lot of people returning to church because of the new chapel being opened in our area! We had a ward activity last Saturday, and, now, everyone is excited about bringing their friends to church. This week, we will be contacting all of the referrals we recieved! Wish us luck! I´m so happy to be a missionary! I love this work so much! Thanks for all of your support and prayers! I know that Christ lives! Elder Richins

We went to the temple on Tuesday!

This week was really good! We went to the temple on Tuesday! It´s been little more than six months since I´ve been there, so it was needed! The session was so good! Elder Pinheiro (my last companion) was there! It´s been so long, it felt like the first time all over again (and it was in Portuguese, which didn´t help! I actually felt really nervous). But it was so good! I felt so close to the Savior! I was able to sit in the celestial room and just breath, and meditate a little about God´s love for us and His great plan of happiness. Going to the temple is literally taking a little time out of our busy schedules to visit our Father in Heaven, to sit with Him and just be in His presence. It was very refreshing! I just want to go back! After the temple session, we went to the Loja do Templo (Temple Shop, or Distribution Center). It´s in the same building as the Church Headquarters in Brasil. It was cool knowing that President Monson and the apostles could well have been in the same building! So, I bought some DVDs to aid in our teaching, and a white tie for baptism (mine disappeared), a Temple magazine to show investigators, and a couple other things I needed. I also bought the Old Testament Seminary DVD. It´s not only really helpful for teaching, but it´s also really helping my study. And it reminds me of Seminary with Mom! In my spare-time Bible study, I´m in Isaiah. My companion has an interview with the President today, so I´ll have lots of time to read. I think I´ll finish it. I love Isaiah so much! There´s so much about the Atonement, life of Christ, Great Apostasy, Restoration, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, missionary work, temples, and the last days! I´m hooked! I´m also really enjoying Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon. The more I study these materials, the more I grow as a missionary and as a servant of the Lord! There´s so much to learn! I made a new friend! Our new zone leader, Elder Brelaz! He´s from Manaus, Amazonas. He´s really cool! We are going to hang out in Utah after our missions! I´m meeting so many people, here in the mission! Having good friends truly is part of God´s plan of happiness! So, I put Juvinal´s and Magda´s names in the temple and the very next day, when we went there, they said that they were getting better! Since then, we´ve been seeing progress! I think we might just save their marriage! Jaqueline and her kids weren´t baptized yesterday because Jaqueline´s boss switched her day off. Next week, she will definitely be baptized! Her friend, Maria, who is less active, and gave us the referral that led us to teach Jaqueline the first time, is really excited for her, and we will try to help her return to church so that she and Jaqueline can support one another. Kelly needs a lot of help. I can´t explain much, but her situation is really bad. But every time we talk to her about the Gospel, she feels better. We find her on her breaking point and leave her calmer and glowing. There is still hope for her! There´s a young man named Breno that we are working with. His two brothers were baptized but don´t affiliate with the Church. His friend, Mykail, was also baptized, but has the desire to return to the church. So, we are helping Breno to prepare to be baptized on the 17th. We went there with Adilson, a 17-year-old recent convert, who´s also a good friend of mine. We taught about the Gospel and Temple Work. I asked Breno if he has a loved one who passed away. He told us that his older brother died recently. As we explained about temple work and about the spirit world, Breno begun to cry. Adilson explained to him that he could see his brother again and that death is not the end. Adilson also had a death in his family within the past few months, and, although he hides it, I think it was hard on him. So this experience really touched Adilson. He didn´t want to make the visit with us. He was really busy that day, but we conviced him to do just this one visit. On the way back to his house, I told him that he would baptize Breno. Yesterday, Adilson bore his testimony about the experience and about what I said. When I said it, I didn´t even think much of it. But now, I can see that even the little things that we do or say can really affect people! In the case of both Breno and Adilson, just an inspired question, or an uplifting thought, put the Gospel in the first priority. I´ll always remember to watch what I do, because it´s just as easy to hurt people as it is to help them. There´s also Weverson. He´s Vanessa´s brother. He´s really excited to be baptized! He wants it so badly! The only thing that is stopping him is his mom. Because of an anti-Mormon in our area, she went from loving the missionaries, to banning us (and any member of the Church) from visiting her or Vanessa. The anti-Mormon left, so there is hope. We gave Weverson the permission slip, so he´ll be getting the signature today. Please keep him in your prayers! I know that his baptism will not only reactivate his sister, but also excite all the youth in the ward to do more missionary work! Well, I have to go! We need to head to Santo Amaro for the interview! But I want you to know that this Work is true. I have no doubts about it! God exists! He is not dead, nor does He sleep! He loves us and wants the best for us! He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, a God Himself, to suffer and die so that we may overcome spiritual death. And Christ lives. Because of him, we will live again, too. I bear witness of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I love you all and have a great week! Elder Richins

I'm so good....Brasil is so cold...and English is so hard!

Hola, minha familia querida! I´m so good, Brasil is so cold (40 degrees!) and English is so hard! We had a transfer! I saw Paulo and Thassya (my first two baptisms). They are getting ready to go the temple next January (I´ll get to watch their sealing). I also saw Elder Paiva (he goes home September 2nd) and Elder Pinheiro and lots of others! Elder Parraguez, o Chileno, was transferred and we recieved Elder Mateus (Mathews). He´s from Utah/North Carolina/Gemany/Florida (military famliy). He´s awesome. We were in the MTC together for a week, but we never met! Good news! The chapel near our house will be open this week! We will start meeting there on the 10th! It´s way closer for our area! And we´ll have a ward social focused on missionary work the week it opens! And we might have a triple baptism this week! I met Jaqueline my first week in Palmares. She was a referral from a less active family. She was really good, but then she changed her mind and stopped investigating. Last month, we found her again. The Spirit told us to see if she was home. And she was! It was the only day of the week she had a day off! She works all day every day except for one day every week, which changes (every sixth day is a day off). We found her and she said that she was looking for us and that she lost our number. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and about Temple Work (as is our new focus as a mission), and when we invited her to be baptized, she said "Now, I will. I want to go to the temple." It´s been super hard to follow up, but every time we do, she is more excited to be baptized! She even asked her boss to have a day off this Sunday to be baptized! And once the church is back in São Bernardo on the tenth, she can go every Sunday, with her three kids, two of which, João Vitor (12) and Ludimila (8) will be baptized with her. Juvinal and Magda are having serious problems, so please pray for them! We found a new investigator, Kelly. She´s a young mom. She lost her faith in God because of her chaotic family life. But we challenged her to ask God if He exists. I shared some verses from Doctrine and Covenants 121 with her. She felt a lot better and I believe she will be baptized. We will teach her about the Restoration of the Gospel today. We are going to the temple tomorrow! We are all super excited! I haven´t gone since January! I´m still reading the Bible! I´m in Isaiah 15! It´s going a lot slower without the World Cup... I sent an email to Ben, but I don´t have the email of Ashton, nor Garrett (who´s almost here?!) Mission is just blessings! My advice for anyone eligible to serve a mission: get/stay worthy, go on a mission, and stay on a mission! I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior! I love Him, and I am grateful for Him! This is His work! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. I love you all and have a great week! -- Élder Thomas Richins

Never, never, never give up on anything!

So, I´ve learned a HUGE lesson over the last 3 months: never, never, never, never, NEVER give up on ANYTHING. Don´t give up on the mission. Don´t give up on the members. Don´t give up on the lunch calendar. Don´t give up on your companion. Don´t give up on your leaders. Don´t give up on yourself. And above all, don´t even think about giving up on God. I´ve seen so many people here, and back in the States, giving up on one or all of these things. It´s one of Satan´s favorite traps: to make us lose hope for someone or something. When we lose hope, we make room for doubt which just leads to suffering and sorrow. For a lot of time, I had given up on a few of the above things (I´ll assure you that it was never the last one). But thanks to a new companion, a change in leadership, and most importantly (and vitally), a change in perspective, I gained more hope. I grew, in the space of just a week, to really truly love this area. My heart began to ache as the transfer calls drew near. But I knew that whatever happened would be inspired. Thankfully, I will stay here in Palmares, with Elder J. Barker, at least until 2nd of September! When that day comes, I will (probably) have just 12 months in the mission! Can you believe it! Super trunky! I´m going to try not to think about it! So, I did have a birthday party after all! After I emailed you all, we did some grocery shopping. My birthday lunch was hotdogs and doritos: A good American lunch! We also bought pizza. I was the only one who had money at the time, so I bought it, but I didn´t have to help pay for the next one. My companions made my birthday awesome. And a family of recent converts threw me a surprise birthday party disguised as a family home evening. They made me TWO cakes, and sang for me, and they shared the spiritual message. It was really great! The candles (they had to go a long way to find them) didn´t work, so they gave them to me (it´s a big 1 and 9). I´m going to use the rest of my birthday money to buy a new shoulder bag (hopefully this one will last longer), and new shoes (super cheap but super durable; I just hope they will have my size!) About Gabriel and Guilharme, the two kids who showed up to sacrament meeting.... WE BAPTIZED THEM!!!! After more than four months, we finally had a baptism! My first in Palmares! It was so great! So Gabriel (age 12) and Guilharme (age 8) are super elect! They had already been going to church with their aunt Rita, but they weren´t baptized until now. They already knew everything, so we retaught everything during the week. There were so many miracles that made this baptism happen. I´m so happy for them! It was the greatest feeling when I baptized Gabriel. I love being a missionary! This church is so true! About Juvinal and Magda... They are having problems. Juvinal wants SO BAD to be baptized! But they need to get married and between their work schedules, and (maybe) a lack of desire on her part, they can´t seem to make it to the city hall with us. We missionaries can´t give marriage counsel, so we are just going to keep teaching, but at Magda´s pace. We need to keep them together! I want so bad for them to be sealed! Be sure to keep them in your prayers! Well, I´m going to close my letter here, because I´m going to try to send a picture. Tomorrow, I´ll see if my package arrived (thanks a lot!). I know that this Church is true! I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He loves us and that He suffered and died for us, and that, thanks to Him, we will be perfected one day. I know that God is my Heavenly Father, and that He called Thomas S. Monson to be our prophet. I love this gospel! This Church is true, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Have a great week! I love you all! Elder Richins

The best present I got was when I opened my email and saw 35 letters!

Today has already been a great birthday! Instead of a cake, we ate bread, and instead of a candle, we used a Q-tip dipped in cologne. It worked well! I filmed the celebration! Elders J Barker, Parraguez, and Florentino sang "Happy Birthday" in English and Portuguese! The Zone Leaders called and gave me a birthday messaged and promised to buy me ice cream (you all are my witnesses). We´ll probably buy pizza tonight! But the best present I got was when I opened my email and saw 35 letters. I´m so thankful for all those who wrote me! The World Cup is over. I hope no one saw the humiliating loss for Brasil. 7 to 1! It was so crazy! People were screaming and cussing and gnashing their teeth. We were watching The Testaments when Brasil lost. Outside of our apartment, looked exactly like 3 Nephi 8. The world was ending! The next morning, Elder J Barker and I were scared to death to walk to District Meeting. We just need one drunk guy to yell "Alemães!" ("Germans!"), and ja era! But we survived! I´m a little disappointed. It would be so cool to be in Brasil when Brasil won the World Cup. But at least it won´t be super crazy. Not that the Cup has ended, missionary work can return to normal. It interfered a lot with following up on our investigators. Many baptisms fell through because we weren´t able to follow up on account of a game. Yesterday, we had a miracle: two boys showed up at church. They have already been frequenting for some time in an other ward, and want to be baptized. We´re going to start teaching them today. If their parents give permission, we´ll baptize them this Saturday. Magda had to work last Saturday, so we´ll mark their wedding this coming Saturday. I really hope I´ll be here to see the wedding. Whatever happens, I´ll ask President Dalton for permission to see their baptism. Juvinal and Magda also weren´t at church yesterday. We´re praying that it´s just because of the World Cup final, and nothing more. Keep them in your prayers! They want so badly to be sealed! I´m very excited for them. Also, keep President and Sister Dalton and their family in your prayers! This is their third week in the field and they are still a little nervous (but they are doing awesome!) Sister Dalton was robbed last friday! Just imagine: your second week in Brasil, you don´t speak Portuguese, and you get robbed. It must have been horrible. But she is so sweet: she was only worried that missionaries would try to call her while her cellphone was robbed. Sorry that this week´s letter is a little short! I love this work! I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He loves us and through Him, we can all be saved through obedience and life-long perseverance in His gospel. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. In our mission, we are focusing using the powers of Heaven, receiving help from the other side of the veil. I know that the Plan of Salvation is real, and that my ancestors and descendents, and those of my investagators are fighting at my side. I love you all so much!

My circumstances didn't change; my perspective changed...

Out of all the lessons I have learned this week, the one that stands out the most is: My Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. Here in the mission, we pass through so many trials and tribulations on a weekly, even daily basis, that it is often easy to forget all of the miracles, big or small, that happen. We sometimes let one great tribulation cloud our sight of the multitude of tender mercies. All this week, I have been suffering with a really bad, painful cold, sometimes flu. I still don´t really know what happened, but I just know that it was a mess. It was uncomfortable to work, and I even had to stay home a day. Because of this sickness, and a series of meetings and exchanges, little work was done in our area. Two more baptisms fell through. During this week, I often felt discouraged and asked myself: when I am trying so hard to be good, and to work hard, why is this happening to me? Why isn´t God protecting me? What am I doing wrong? My fear and sadness disappeared after I received a priesthood blessing. It began when Elder Barker asked me what our monthly goal for baptisms was. I responded that it would be 8, the minimum. He tried to encourage me to go for 10. I confessed that I did not believe we would have even 8. As I said those words, I felt my faith grow feeble, and I felt suddenly distanced from the Spirit. After a long talk, I requested a blessing from my companion. What followed was one of the most sacred experiences I have had so far. In the blessing, I was told exactly what I was so longing to hear. Through my companion, Heavenly Father told me that He loves me, and knows me. He reassured me that He has accepted my work so far, and that He has not forsaken me, nor forgotten about me. He told me that I am forgiven of my past mistakes and trespasses. Through this blessing, Heavenly Father said that He is proud of me, and that I am living an honorable life. During the blessing, I was filled with such a burning in my bosom that I had never before felt. It was as if I was being embraced by the Father Himself. I began to cry, as the spirit healed my broken heart. I was filled with a testimony that is unbreakable: a testimony of God´s love, of His power and the priesthood, and of His mercy. After the blessing, my circumstances didn´t change. My perspective changed. Although the week continued, my sickness lingered, and we had little success, I feel edified. The Lord is accepting my work, here. A couple of days after the blessing, I received yet another testimony of God´s love for me. This came in the form of an empty plastic bottle. I was on exchanges in Casa Grande with Elder Mariano. We were waiting in front of the church for the other two Elders to arrive so that we could go to lunch together. A man walked past. The wind suddenly blew, sending the plastic bottle rolling after the man. I noticed it and pointed it out to Elder Mariano. We joked that it was chasing the man. As soon as we said it, the wind blew again, in the opposite direction, bringing the bottle rolling back. It´s red cap was facing us, as if it were looking at us angrily. I said that the bottle was angry with us for making fun of it. Elder Mariano spotted a woman approaching and said it would be funny if the bottle chased her, too. As the woman walked passed, the wind blew a third time, sending the bottle in the opposite direction, rolling after her. For two tired and hungry missionaries, this little episode cheered us up and gave us a reason to laugh. I don´t see this little incident as a coincidence. I believe that our Heavenly Father doesn´t just love is in a small way. He is our Father, and loves each of us as our Earthly fathers love us. My Earthly dad has a sense of humor and loves to joke and play with his kids. So why wouldn´t our Eternal Father love to play with His children? This small, insignificant joke with a plastic bottle, however subtle, was a reminder from God that He is my Father, and that He does love to play with His children. From now on, I am excited to view the world in a different light: how many times do I miss these little reminders from our Heavenly Father that He loves me? I know that Heavenly Father loves me. He made it known in the beginning, when He presented the Plan of Salvation to us in the Pre-Mortal World. Under the direction of the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and our new Mission President, President Dalton, we are helping Heavenly Father present this wonderful Plan a second time. Our entire mission is changing focus, teaching more about this Plan of Happiness, and about the temple, in order to better motivate people to follow Jesus Christ. And it´s working. We were prompted to stop by the house of a past investigator, Jaqueline. When she came to the door, the first thing she said was: "Elders! I´ve been trying to find you!" She got a new job that requires her to work Sundays, but she had been trying to get in contact with us, but had lost our number. We were prompted to share with her the Plan of Salvation, including the role of temples and vicarious work. At the end, when we invited her (again) to be baptized, she said: "I will, now. I´ll talk with my boss about taking a day off on Sundays." Jaqueline asked us if we could escort her three young children to church the next day. We agreed, and, with the help of some members, her three children, João Vitor (12), Ludimila (8), and Camila (6), went to church, liked it, and want to be baptized. Little Camila isn´t too happy about having to wait almost two years, but she really liked Primary. It´s amazing what a change in perspective can do, not just for missionaries and members, but also for our investigators. I am excited for this week. We will go with Juvinal and Magda to the city hall to schedule their wedding. We received a call that Cileide not only has desire to come back, but also that her friend (who, earlier, spoke against the church and baptism) wants to receive our message. This week will be really good. I have faith that it will be. I am filled with hope, because of my Heavenly Father, and because of His plan. I am excited to continue on in this great work. I know that God lives and loves me. I know that He sent Jesus Christ to suffer and die for me. And I know that Christ lives, and will return to this Earth, to cleanse her of evil and to preside over His kingdom. I know that, after all I do all that I can, I will find peace. I know that the priesthood is real, and that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, seer, and revelator, along with the Apostles. They speak with God face to face, and through them, we receive His counsel and instructions. Of these things, I testify in the healing name of Jesus Christ. Amen I love you all and hope you have a great week! --

This week, I will have nine months in the mission!

Nine months! This week, I will have nine months in the mission! It´s going by so fast! I can´t believe it´s almost July! It´s easy to forget, here in Brasil, when it feels more like September. In the mornings and at night, it feels like November! We often joke that Christmas will come soon, because it´s getting colder. But I don´t think it´ll get much colder than this. We´ll see: July is the coldest month of the year! Brasil beat Chile in the World Cup this week! Woo! It´s really funny because we have a Brasileiro (Elder Florentino) and a Chileno (Elder Parraguez) in the house. Several times, the Brasileiro shouted out the window "Hey, there´s a Chileno here! Let´s get him!" The funny thing is that everyone in the street zoou (teased) Elder Parraguez before and after the game. There was a game Monday, too, against Cameroon. Brasil won that, too. That is awesome for Elder J. Barker and I because we will have to stay home on what day? The Fourth of July! And there will be fireworks because of the game. It´d be even better if there was a U.S. / England match on that day. Cileide wasn´t baptized. She was really excited all week, but someone has been fighting us and telling her bad things about the Church and about us. This same person took Cileide away for the entire weekend, preventing her from going to church and being baptized. I swear, this war is so real. Also this week, other baptisms of youths fell through because of ignorant parents. Another woman was prevented from going to church by her hostile husband, who does not like any church in general. So this week was really difficult in this aspect. Even Vanessa, who was on the road to reactivation, fell. She said that she does not feel like going to church anymore and doesn´t want us to return. Also, her mother is avoiding us. She knows the Church is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, etc., but she doesn´t want to commit. The only bright spot is a family we found this last week. Juvinal and Magda were taught by Elder Pinheiro (my last companion) a few months ago. Just before I arrived, they were dropped because they didn´t want to marry, despite their willingness to go to church, quit smoking and drinking and coffee. This last week, however, Magda went to church to find us. When we arrived in their house the following day, we witnessed a miracle. Juvinal and Magda felt so bad for not going to church (for about 2 months) and for not yet being baptized. They showed true desire and real intent and sincere hearts. I´ve never seen such an elect couple. Had it not been for the World Cup, we would have gone to the city hall and scheduled a wedding. But this Saturday, for sure, we are going to mark their wedding! At first, they had small doubts about buying a ring first. But I told them that their eternal marriage is more important than a ring, and that, instead of a wedding ring, they could buy a "sealing ring" for when they go through the temple. Now, they are really excited. Magda will stop drinking coffee (Juvinal already quit everything), and I believe that nothing can stop them from being baptized and sealed. They have a daughter, Laura, who is also excited to be baptized. Her baptism is marked for next Saturday (July 12). That same Saturday, we are planning to take Juvinal, Magda, and Laura to the São Paulo Temple and teach them in the waiting room and show them the garden, etc. All three of them have such strong testimonies of the Restored Gospel. They already have read the Book of Mormon, Gospel Principles, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith and are reading Doctrine and Covenants. They have truly been prepared to receive us. This time, they will be baptized and they will endure to the end! I´m so glad to be a missionary! I know that this work is true! I know that Christ lives and loves us! I´d never trade my mission for anything! Time to go. I love you all so much! P.S. I´m in 1 Samuel 15! I´ve got a lot of time thanks to the World Cup!