This week was a good week. We were able to start teaching a few new
people who have real potential, and continue working with those who
were progressing. One of these people is Kailanny, the granddaughter
of Fátima, the same Fátima who was baptized and confirmed last week.
Kailanny is nine years old, and very smart. She understood all of the
lessons, and she loved church when she went the first time. On Friday,
she was baptized! I had the privilege of baptizing her, and I am
grateful to have been a part of helping her to learn more about the
Gospel, and to enter into the strait and narrow path that leads back
to our Heavenly Father. She was confirmed and received the gift of the
Holy Ghost yesterday during sacrament meeting.
Something kind of cool happened this week. My companion and I were
walking to an appointment, and as we were walking, there was a man a
little bit further down the street from us. He looked at us, and
smiled at me and nodded his head. (As I have often said, a nod of the
head is a universal male signal of acknowledgment, whatever part of
the world you are in, and being here in Brazil has only solidified my
theory of this.) I smiled and nodded back, and he motioned toward us.
His name was Vernon, and he asked me if I knew of another missionary
that he had known a long time ago. I didn´t even understand the name
directly, but I said that I didn´t know of him. Vernon knew him a long
time ago, and he started to tell us about how he knew about Joseph
Smith, and about the gold plates, and how he tried to explain it to
his landlady once and she said that he was crazy. He said to her,
``Let me get in touch with the Mormons, and they can explain it to
you!´´ She was sort of appalled and even offended at the notion:)
Anyway, I wrote down his address and phone number, and we invited him
to Church. Sadly, he works every Sunday morning, and so he got our
number as well, and we said that we would try to stay in touch with
him when we can. (He still lives in that same apartment, so teaching
him there probably wouldn´t be a good idea with his landlady) So, we
will have to see what happens!
I know that the Church it true, and that Heavenly Father really is
preparing people to hear the message of the Restoration, that they can
be ready and willing to act upon the message that we have to share to
the world. And that message is this: After having the divine truth and
authority of the Gospel of Jesus Christ been lost from the earth for
centuries, our Loving Heavenly Father has once again extended His hand
to His children through living prophets, giving us the light and
direction that we need to be happy and joyful now, and to return to
live in a fulness of His light and love in the life hereafter, with
our families being united for eternity to live together in His glory.
What a message this is! I know that it is true, and that we can truly
receive these blessings in our lives.
I love my family:) It was so good to talk to you all yesterday, to
hear your voices, to joke around with you, and to feel truly grateful
for the wonderful family that I have been blessed to have. I also feel
grateful for all of my extended family and friends. I have truly been
blessed to know you all:)
Have a great week, everyone!
With love,
Elder Reid Powell Empey
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