What a Good Week - from Araturi

Hey, all! Sorry that you haven't been getting much news from me lately.

I can't believe that the time has gone by so fast. Three weeks left.......yikes, better not to think about it! (And Mom, forget that I said that. No need to hyperventilate, just think to yourself, "He'll get here when he gets here, and it's going to be great", and then go back to whatever else you were thinking about or doing. That's what I'm doing to try to stay focused and sane.)

This week was such a good week. Thiago, the husband of a returned sister missionary, was baptized! I had the privilege of baptizing him. The firt time I say him, I wasn't sure what to think, because he had talked to so many Elders before us, and was kinda like, "Oh, great, not like I haven't heard this before....." But, he really felt like this is the truth and that this is the right path for him and his family. His wife said to him a few weeks ago, before he had made the decision to be baptized, "I made a goal for us: next year, we are going to the temple to get sealed!" He was like, "I don't even know what the temple is! Don't I have a choice in all this?" And her attitude about it was, "Nope! You don't! We're going, and that's final." This actually opened his heart, and he knew for himself that this is what the Lord wants them to do. They came by our apartment last night to give us some "celebratory" cake, and we said thanks to them. Thiago responded, with meaning and feeling behind his words, "No, Elders, thank you." What a blessing to see all this happening in their lives, and the change in his face and his heart.

Also, a couple that we are teaching went to his baptism, to church the next day, and to the stake devotional about family history and the temple! I asked Allyson, the husband (it's a guy's name in Brazil), what he thought about the devotional. He said, "I loved it! I love everything about the Church!" They are going to be baptized in two weeks probably.

Have a great week, everybody! Remember that I love you all very dearly, and that the time goes by really fast!

Love,

Élder Reid Powell Empey

Update: So Much Stuff! - from Araturi

Hey, everybody! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have written an email for everybody. Things have been crazy this past transfer, and just keep getting crazier!

So, I am in Araturi, in Caucaia Stake (if you want to see on Google Maps exactly where I am at this exact moment, go to http://goo.gl/maps/YzDtv). I am here with Elder Day, who is from Cottonwood Heights (basically Salt Lake), and we are zone leaders. It is an awesome area, and I am so excited to work really hard for these last few weeks. It is crazy to think that I only have five weeks left to accomplish what I need to get done! Gotta work hard!

A few weeks ago, we had the blessing and miracle of having five baptisms in our ward! All involved some form of reactivation, and we are so glad to see them becoming more and more involved in the Church and its programs. We are going to start working with them and family history. It's going to be sweet:)

Thanks for everything! I will be sure to keep everyone up to date from now on!

I love you all, and have a great week! Drop me an email when you can, I love to hear from you all! reid.empey@myldsmail.net

Love,

Élder Reid Powell Empey

Happy Week, Happy Transfer! - From José Walter 2

Hello, All! 
I stayed in the same area and with the same compasnion for one more transfer! How exciting! It's going to be great. The Lord thought it necessary to let me stay with someone I really enjoy as a companion for a bit longer!

The Sisters in our district had a big change, though. Sister Peres is going to train two sisters at the same time! Because of the explosion of missionary inceases, especially with sisters, they need to do it that way! One sister I know, Sister Costa, is training four at the same time! They couldn't have Elders training Sisters, so they put a bunch of Sisters together:)

Anyway, I am out of time again, but this is going to be an awesome week! I can feel it!

Have a great week!

Love you all, 

Elder Reid Powell Empey

The Weekly News from José Walter 2

Hey, everyone! 

Sorry that I haven't written much these past few weeks, my time has been tight on the computer recently. So many emails, so little time!

Things are going well here. I am enjoying the area, and I love my companion, Elder Pinheiro. We get along really well, and I have been able to talk to him quite openly about everything!. He is quite new here on the mission, but he is energetic and excited to do the work. What a blessing it is for us to be together!

I have been thinking a lot recently about how important our testimonies are, especially our testimony of Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and His Church here upon the earth. I seek to strengthen my testimony of these truths, and invite all of you to do the same. Please, read the Book of Mormon every day. I don't think we realize how important this really is! It will change our lives if we will read it, ponder it, and drink deeply of its truths and words. I seek to deepen and strengthen my testimony through this truely inspired and God-sent volume of scripture.

Anyway, got to go...again! Have a wonderful week, and never forget who you are!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

P.S. Have a great trip in Germany, Claire and Eric! You're gonna love it!

Hey, Everybody,

I got transferred!
Now, I'm in José Walter 2, with Elder Pinheiro, and I am totally stoked. Unfortunately, I am also totally out of time. So, I will tell you all all (wow, Portuguese gets to ya....) about it next week.

Tchau! I love you guys, and have a good week!

With love as always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Hello! from Maranguape

Well, this week was great! We nearly had a baptism, but Angela nees a little more time, and we met a bunch of new people, so this week is going to be busy! I am excited to see how things will turn out, and I am loving the time I have with my new companion, Elder Patino. He is from Columbus, Ohio.

I ran out of time again, so I will just have to explain things more "detalhado" next week! Hope you have a good one!

Send me pics and quotes and stories of how your wonderful lives are going! If any of you are heading out on a mission, please send me a letter and your mission address so that I can write you back!

Love you all,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

The News - from Maranguape

Hello, all!

So, I have a bit of a sad piece of news. Elder Tibbitts, my companion, because of the headaches that he has been having (nearly six weeks without stopping now), it has become necessary that he return home to try to resolve the difficulties. He hasn't been able to study, nor walk a lot, or much of anything, and so it will be much easier for him to relax at home. I have a new companion, Elder Patino from Ohio, and we are already getting along really well. Elder Tibbitts is flying out on Wednesday. So, my "son" will be continuing his adventures and service elsewhere for the time being. The Lord has a plan in everything, and I am so grateful to have been Elder Tibbitts' companion during this time. I know that the Lord has His hand in all things in our lives.

So, Vitrória and Daniel were confirmed, and now all the members of their family that can be baptized are baptized! I am so happy to see them progressing in the Gospel.

Anyway, I gotta go, but I love you all, and have a wonderful week!

Tchau!

Até o próximo, 

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Quick!

So, another quick email!

We saw a few miracles this week. Márcio was baptized and confirmed, and then, even though I highly doubted and never thought that it would actually happen, Jacinta's daughter and son were baptized as well! Vitória, her daughter, is getting along well with the young women in the ward, and Daniel, her son, is attending. He is very shy and timid, but the young men's president is going to work more with him to help him out.

So, this has been an amazing week! Sadly, the headaches of my companion continue to be a difficulty. We are trying to not do anything to aggravate the situation, which is hard considering that the pain is aggravated by basically anything we do, walking, speaking in Portuguese, studying, the hot Cearense sun, etc. So, we are just doing the best that we can, and trying to keep moving forward!

I'm way out of time, but I love you all, and wish you a happy New Year, 2013! I never thought we'd get this far because of 2012, so I guess I'll have to re-think my life plan......:)

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy 2013! - From Maranguape

Hello, all. 
I hope that you are having a wonderfullly, awesomely, splenderific day! I know my sister Joslyn is, because she's still out of school on break:)

So, this week was great. Oh, sorry, by the way, that I didn't send an email last week. I was a bit too busy talking to my FAMILY!!! On Skype:) It was awesome:)

This week was good because of Christmas and all (by the way, I got my Christmas package, Mom. I finally ate one of those giant Reese's today, and it was amazing. And, please tell my companion that the other one is for him. He refuses to believe that it's for him, and insists that I eat it), but it was still challenging. My companion, Elder Tibbitts, is having some very difficult health challenges. He has had a headache for nearly five weeks, and it hasn't gone away. He already got a tomography, with and without contrast, and a CT scan, but everything checked out normal. We are not sure what to do, especially because we did what the doctor said and rested this past week and took some other medicines, but it didn't really help. Please keep him in your prayers so that we can find the solution. The Missionary Department is working on it right now.

Jacinta was confirmed yesterday, and her two older kids finally went. Also, Márcio, a young man who is 19, is getting baptized this Saturday, and confirmed on Sunday! He's awesome, and I'm so excited for his decision to do the right thing.  Please pray for him as well, that he can have the strength he needs to confront the difficulties that he is facing and will continue to face. Pray for Jacinta as well!

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful week, and don't forget that I'm thinking about you, and pray and hope for the best for you all!

With love as always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Good Times, Hard Times, Another Week in Maranguape

Hey, everyone! Hope it's been a good week.

This week was good, we had the Christmas Conference for our whole mission, and we were able to talk to everybody. Also, I sang a song for the talent show, it's a song that the mission president loves, and a group randomly asked me, "Hey, do you know this song? We need an American who can sing and speaks English!" Because the song is in English:) It's "He Ain't Heavy" by the Hollies. It's a good song when you're thinking about companions and difficulties. I'll try to attach the video.

Anyway, we talked to a woman this week who is awesome! Her name is Jacinta, and she really wants to get baptized. Her soon-to-be ex-husband was baptized yesterday, and the Elders who were doing his interview invited her to hear the missionary lessons when she was dropping of their two girls at his house. She accepted, and we went over there that same day we got the referral, and then she when to church the next day and loved it! She wants to be baptized, and be forgiven of her sins, so she truly has been prepared by the Lord. She was recently very disappointed by her own church, and the things that we going on there. So, her heart in open and receptive at this time. I am excited to see how things turn out this week!

Anyway, I gotta go! I will see some of you next week, the 24th, Christmas Eve, on Skype! I love you all so very much! Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! The Church is true!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Hurry! Nov. 26, 2012

I didn't have much time to write an email this week because I was buried in other emails......I love you all so much!

This week was kind of a tough week, but we figured out how we can get the work going. We are going to work with the members in Tabatinga, an area of the ward, to help us bring back lots of less-active members and to help us find more people to teach, rescuing and strengthening these families in the Gospel at the same time. That is what real Church growth is all about.

I love you all so very much, sorry for the short email! Elder Tibbits is awesome, and I am excited for the adventures ahead:)

With all my heart,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

AH!! Crazy fast! ~ Dec. 10, 2012

Sorry, guys! I ran out of time this week! Things are doing good, not perfect (well, duh, Elder Empey, nothing in this life is perfect...), but things are running along.

I am excited for the Gospel to be preached to so many more people now that there will be so many more missionaries in the field, and a lot more Sisters! Let me tell you, the Sisters who are coming into the field will begin to raise the baptisms up to an unprecedented level, and it will be them that will set the example and the standard that the Elders will have to live up to.

I was actually thinking about this during this week: it was Eve, not Adam, that perceived the importance of keeping the higher commandment of multiplying and replenishing the Earth, that they needed to partake of the fruit to progress. It was Eve that showed to Adam the "more excellent way". I believe this will also be manifest in our missionary efforts. The Sisters take their callings more seriously, more diligently, and they truly receive power in their callings, even when Elders in the same circumstances don't. I truly believe that there are Sisters that have more power to preach the gospel than some of the Elders, because the Elders have the authority of the priesthood, but lack the diligence and desire to receive the necessary power. It is like that in many different aspects of the Church, not only missionary work. We must rise up, and be men, fulfilling the roles which we were called and ordained to fulfill. Not to say that the wonderful women of the Church cannot or should not or are not meant to fulfill such roles, because they are wonderfully capable and majestic at doing just that. It is simply sad and unfortunate, however, when the women of the Church do so in a necessity to "pick up the slack" that the men leave undone, having to do what the men are supposed to do merely because the men choose not to live up to their obligations and responsibilities. Thankfully and happy, however, this is not the case. I am thankful for wondferful men in my life who stand up, making the difference, and fulfilling their priesthood roles and fatherly obligations, and do so willingly and lovingly. They are examples of the Savior, and they are blessed immensely for their diligent priesthood service.

The Gospel is true! I love you all so very much. Have an awesome, splendiferic week!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Happy Day, Happy Week, Happy News, Happy Mission, Happy Life! - from Maranguape Dec. 3 2012

Hello, everybody!

So, I have a couple good pieces of news this week.

First off, it's December!!!! Wow, the month that we've all been waiting for, ever since one of the Mayans said thousands of years ago:

"Hey, Akish, I just got the best prank idea I think I've ever had......" (he was probably a Lamanite.....)

Anyway, Mayans aside, happy early birthday to my dear, sweet, wonderful Mother, on December 12th, as well as to my good friend Shannon, whose birthday is the same date (that's why it's so easy to remember!).

Also, things are going rather well here in Maranguape. The work's been a bit slow recently, but this week things started picking up. We are really focused on reactivating members, and especially families, and looking as well for part-member families. If all of the members in this area were active, we would seriously be close to having a stake here:) So, there's a lot....lots of work to do!

I can't believe how quickly the time passes! In less than 9 months, I will be home......wow, just the thought makes me want to get out and work harder while I still can!

So, recently, Heavenly Father has been guiding my thoughts to more healthy thoughts and ideas. I am realizing more and more every day how much I am so focused on things that aren't so important. Well, they're important, but they are definitely "beyond the mark". I realized that I am focused so much on results, and measuring my value and success on results, and things happening, and people being baptized, and this, and that, and etc, etc, etc. Yet, those things aren't the most important things. I seem to convince myself that something is wrong because things aren't running perfect, whereas, duh, things aren't going to run perfectly most of the time because I'm not perfect! 

 came across a quote that helped me, and continues to help me to refocus on the most important things. It's by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He said: "True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives - that is, our time and choices - to God's purposes. In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny." What a stress-reducing thought! I cannot force people to accept our message, and I don't need to over-worry if people don't. Not even Heavenly Father forces people, and He is perfect. So, instead of focusing on results and numbers and baptisms, I need to focus on doing my very best, and remember that my very best is good enough for Him. Because, that's really all I can do! My best! I can't give more than that, so there's no use in trying to force myself to give more than that!

It's also good to remember why I am really here on a mission, or even a member of the Church for that matter. Because it's true:) And that faith is not dependent on outcomes. Our faith is not dependent on miracles if that is not what the Lord sees fit for us. They will happen, but nearly always in a way that we don't anticipate or expect.

Another good thought: "Are you serving time, or are you serving the Lord?" Puts things into a better perspective, huh?

Another: "Are you striving for perfection, or are you allowing the Savior to perfect you?" I spent about two or three weeks thinking about that one:)

Anyway, I gotta go, but I love you all, and I am so grateful for this chance to learn and to grow, and to greater understand why I am here, not just in the mission, but here on the Earth! The Plan of Salvation truly is a comforting and an inspiring truth. Isn't it good to know that our perfect Father in Heaven has a perfect plan for us imperfect people?

I love you all so very much!

With all my heart,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Hurry! November 19, 2012

Hey, I am almost out of time, so I'll be quick!

This was a good week here in Maranguape with my new companion, Elder Tibbits! He's from Taylorsville, Utah, about 30 or 40 minutes away from Temple Square in Salt Lake City. First companion from the state people here in Brazil like to call "the Factory" ("a fábrica" in Portuguese, probably a title that Utahans neither resent nor encourage....)! I am so excited to be able to help him in these first few days, weeks, and months of his mission in the field. I really like having American companions, it's great!

We are teaching Karol right now, and she already feels that the Church is true, but she just has to gather up the courage to be baptized. ......, Karol had a dream the night before going to Church for the first time, and dreamed of going into the Church. She was dressed exactly the way she was dressed when she actually went the next day, and, even though she had never been inside the Church before, dreamed of the hallways and the chapel and everything exactly how it is in real life, never having been there before. She said that she saw the same people that she saw at church the next day, too. So, please pray for Karol, that she can muster up the courage and the faith and the trust to do what she knows is right, even in the face of great adversity. She is also scared that she'll just stop going after a month, and I wasn't exactly sure how to calm her fears and doubts. But, she does want to let go of her boyfriend, and follow the Savior in the way that He wants.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empe

Quick Letter, I love you all!

So, I have some news. I was called today to be a trainer for the next two transfers! I don't know who my companion is yet, nor if he is Brazilian or American, but I am really excited! I am so grateful and humbled by this chance to help other missionaries to succeed. I pray with all of my heart that I will be guided and directed with what I need to do to be an example and a disciple of Jesus Christ as we embark on this new and exciting adventure!

I am so grateful for the Gospel in our lives. It really makes all of the difference! Sorry about a short email today, but I am still in Maranguape, and I am über-excited (also über-excited that they have the umlaut function on the Portuguese keyboard....so sweet!!!). It's going to be great!

Never forget who you are, and also who He is, and that He is always there to help and lift you at all times, and in all things, and in all places you may be in, for as we stand as witnesses and testimonies of Him, He is there with us. I like it in Doctrine and Covenants where it says, "But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me" (D&C 38:7). He really is here if we will just look for Him and His hands in our lives! Remember to be grateful, and that all will be as it ought to be if we have faith and trust in Him, and do what He asks us to do. And never, never, never forget that He is there to help us to do everything that is necessary! So, don't fret so much! I really need to work on that part:)

Love you all tons and scoops and gallons and garrafões and oddles and puddles and poodles and muddle puds (inside-joke with my Mom) and trucks and airplanes and millions upon millions of coal and copper mines full!!!!

Until next time,

Élder Reid Empey

Happy Day! From Maranguape!

Hey, everyone!

So, this week, we were able to teach some new people, and I'm really excited to be able to work with them. One day, we were over at a less-active members house, and we had gone there because of another member who brought us there. The less-active member's name is Lucia, and she wasn't home. However, a neighbor was there, named Thatiana. So, we were thinking about going somewhere else to visit, but we ended up staying, and talking with Thatiana. We taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel, and how this Church is totally different than other churches, and that we find the complete truth in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of the message, she told us that we had been attending the Universal Church, a rather common Evangelical church in Brazil, and that she had felt something missing. She had felt like her needs were not being met by her current church. So, we had come at just the right moment, to someone who was looking for something more, searching for the truth! We will go back there this week, and I pray that we can help them to know for themselves that these things are true.

As I ponder about the things that we teach every day, I have realized that we receive power to influence and teach others insomuch as the things we are talking about have truly impacted and changed our lives. When we bear our testimony, it has as much power as the changes it has brought about in our hearts. If we want to teach about the Restoration with the power of the Spirit, our lives need to have been truly changed by it. As we testify of the effect of the Atonement in our lives, we will help others to feel the Spirit as we speak from our personal spiritual experience, and as the Spirit has changed our hearts. This gospel is not about accepting the truth and being saved, it's about accepting the truth and being changed. That is our purpose here on Earth: to gain a body, to be tested, and to learn and grow through our experiences. As we seek to strengthen our own personal testimony of the truth, and to change our lives, and to awake in ourselves the desire to know the truth, we will have a greater capacity to help other people in these areas. If I have never felt the influence of the Spirit, how am I going to help someone else to feel the Spirit? If my life has not been changed by what happened in the Sacred Grove, and the account that Joseph Smith told, how is my retelling of his words going to help the lives of others to be changed?

I like what President Monson said during the Priesthood Session of this past General Conference. He said, "There is absolutely nothing in this world that will provide more comfort and happiness than a testimony of the truth. Although to varying degrees, I believe every man or young man [or woman or young woman] here tonight has a testimony. If you feel that you do not yet have the depth of testimony you would wish, I admonish you to work to achieve such a testimony. If it is strong and deep, labor to keep it that way. How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the truth."

Every one of us has our own testimony, to varying degrees. What we seek is that our testimonies can become strenghened to the point of being "steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works" (Mosiah 5:15), and President Monson tells us that each of us can get to that point. So, if you're struggling, please follow the advice of Kriss Kringle in "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town": "Put one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walkin' 'cross the floor, just put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walkin' out the door!" As we seek to continue to move forward, even pressing forward with a "steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men....wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:20).

He will help us, as we seek to "keep moving forward" (Meet the Robinsons), get up after we've been knocked down, and seek always to have our will be submitted to His, for He can make much more out of us and for us than we can even imagine:)

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful week!

With love and hugs and kisses and more,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Hello from Brazil! Crazy, I'M IN BRAZIL, AND HAVE BEEN FOR MORE THAN A YEAR!!!!!

October 22, 2012
Hello, all:) I hope that you have all had a wonderful week!

So, this week was a bit difficult. Many of our appointments fell through, and a bit frustrating. But, at the end of the week, things brightened up significantly!

So, a few men from a state called Bahia are living and working here in Maranguape, and they have been coming to the English class. We decided to ask if we could talk to them about the Gospel, and they said sure. We taught them this week, and they were understanding really well. Then, after English class on Saturday, we were going to teach them again, but this time at their house. We went over there, and lo and behold, they live with 7 other men from Bahia! We sat everybody down, and taught them all the first lesson. I have never had an experience like that before! Teaching 8 or 9 men who are tall, black, and could probably pull my arms off if they wanted to! But, it was nothing like that! They were incredible! Nearly all of them have families back in Bahia, and are working here far away form their families to support them. It's almost like us here out on the mission!

Anyway, we invited them to go to church the next day, and they said that they would go. One of them said an awesome closing prayer, and we all felt really good afterward.

We went over the next morning to walk with them to sacrament meeting, and five of them went with us! It was very cool to walk over with them, joke around with them, and answer their questions, and sincere desires to learn more. I really love these guys! Then, that night (which was last night), we went over to see how they had liked church, and if they had prayed about everything. They had liked church, and a few said that they were excited to go back next Sunday! One will even started coming to the English class with the two others. Unfortunately, most of them said that they hadn't prayed about everything, but we expained to them how to pray again, answered their questions, and invited one of them to say the closing prayer. He said that he didn't really know how to pray, but his prayer was perfect! I hope and pray that these men will continue to learn and grow, and that they can feel the Spirit, and become converted to and through the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ, even more converted than they already are! I believe that many of us are more converted than we imagine, just as the Lamanites who were converted, and "they knew it not" (3 Nephi 9:20).

As we seek to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and to act, and not simply be acted upon, He will pour His Spirit upon us, that we might have this mighty change of heart, and be purified and sanctified, even as He is pure. If you aren't sure that you're converted enough, don't worry or fret too much about it, because even those Lamanites didn't realize that they were converted, and they had been enveloped with literal fire and ministered to by angels! So, if you want to become more converted, seek to have a broken heart, and a contrite spirit, to be humble to Him, and willing to submit your will to His will. As you do this, He will show you the paths, and even the steps that you need to take to a deeper conversion. His servants have spoken to us in General Conference. Read and listen to their words again, seeking after this mighty change of heart. I know that I really need to re-listen to Elder Bednar's talk about testimony and conversion, so that I can learn what I need to do to change!

I love you all so very much! The Lord truly is hastening His work here on the earth! A family member of mine told me in an email that the Church receives, on average, 600 applicatons a week for perspective missionaries. Last week, they received around 7,000 aplications!!! What a wonderful miracle! In one week, the increase in applications was 11 times the size it had been before, and, if all of the applications were sent through, this would result in a 12% increase in the number of missionaries in the field (if my calculations are correct...)! IN ONE WEEK!!!! Imagine in the weeks, months, and years to come! Now, we all need to discover the will of the Lord for our personal circumstance, and realize that not everyone can or should serve a mission at these ages, or even may not be able to serve for other reasons. But, the Lord is hastening His work, calling upon His children to serve others in the mission field, in family history and temple work, and in serving, inviting, forgiving, and extending a hand to others, especially those who have fallen away from the Church. Please stay firm, and don't miss out on being able to participate and assist in this great work, wherever or whatever that might be!

I love you all so vey much! Have an awesome week, and don't forget how blessed you really are!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Happy Days, and Happy Transfers! from Maranguape

Hey, everybody! We received the transfer call last night, and Elder Langfoss and I will be staying another transfer here in Maranguape! That means that Elder Langfoss will have spent the first four transfers of his mission in the same area, amounting to six months of his whole mission here! Congratulations, Elder Langfoss!

This week was a little bit slower with our lessons and with the people that we're working with, but it was still a great week. We had a bit of a disappointment when the mom of a young man we were teaching, the mother in fact being an inactive member of the Church, said that she wants him to wait to be baptized. That was a bit discouraging, but we kept moving forward, and we look ahead to helping him be even more firm in the Church and in the Gospel.

We talked to a couple of people this week that went miraculously well. Romário, who is the brother of a member, is still excited about the Gospel, even though we haven't talked to him for weeks about it. He still feels that the Church is true, and that he wants to marry his girlfriend and be baptized. We are excited for him. Also, we taught another young man named Fabrício, and he really wanted to know if the Church is true. He was really excited, and I felt the Spirit so strong when we were talking to him.

As we learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how He speaks to us personally and through His servants, the prophets and apostles, we learn and feel and are amazed and thrilled by His enormous love and concern and care for each and every one of us as His children. He wants us to be happy, and because of that, He has given us the support system that we need. That is why I am so excited for this weekend, where we will hear His word through His servants in General Conference. After all, the Lord has said to us that "whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:37-38). So, as we listen to His servants, we will hear His words, for the Lord speaks even in our day as He did of old.

Let us never forget the marvelous and glorious blessings we all enjoy and share, as children of a loving Heavenly Father, who wishes the very best for us, and fights and commands and cheers on our success. For when we are happy, He is happy; when we are sad, He is sad. And through it all, even in our imperfect state, He loves us, and wants us back. Because of that love, He has prepared a way that it may be possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him (see John 14:6(5-6)). If we are willing to follow Him, obey Him, and do what He asks us to do, we will live again, together with our families, with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and we will come to know them in a way that is now for us not just impossible to comprehend, but incapable of our imagination to even grasp (see John 17:3). That is why we are here on earth, to return to Their presence, and enjoy and truly know the joy that they experience. We are here to become more like Them, and to help others as well along the way:)

I love you all so very, very much! Have a wonderful day, wonderful week, and a wonderful General Conference! If you want to watch it, just go to http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng. It will be something that you won't want to miss:)

With all of the love in my heart,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

The Weekly Update - From Maranguape, Cearà, Brasil!

Olá, todos vocês! Como estão indo as coisas lá em casa? Tá tudo bem? Um pouco molhado, né? Mas, com certeza tudo vai dar certo:) (Google Translate is nice, isn't it?)

I hope that everyone's week went well, and that your lives are awesome!

This week, some cool things happened. A young man that we were teaching named Vitor was at home, and we decided to invite his whole family to listen to the message also. We discovered that his mom is an inactive member of the Church! His aunt and uncle were also really interested, so we will continue teaching them, and help them to know that these things are true.

Also, a few weeks ago we were talking to two boys on the street who were going home from school. They told us where they lived, and that we could pass by. We went to Diego's house, but he wasn't home, so we instead went to the other's house, whose name is Gabriel. His grandma was home, and she let us come in and talk to them. We taught them about the Restoration, and in the middle of the lesson, Gabriel's cousin, Pedrina, walked in. She, too, listened to the message, and it appeared that she was interesed and understood the concepts that we were teaching. She is only 12 years old. We marked with them for us to pass by again another day. When we went back, basically no one was at home, except the grandma, who is around 70, and while she understood surprisingly well about the message the first time, she didn't seem to show much interest. So, we weren't sure if they were going to progress or even go to church.

Then, while we were walking near that area one day this week, we saw Pedrina on the street corner, waiting for her mom to pick her up. We asked her if she had prayed about what we said, and she said yes. Excitedly, we asked if if we could pass by her house and talk to her and her family. She agreed, and we marked a day. 

One the marked day, we went to her grandma's house, thinking that she would be there. Sadly, she wasn't, and her grandma said that she didn't live there, and lived on another road a little ways away. So, we left there without much direction except east, and I felt like we should go up on the next road and just walk down it and look around. So, we did. We walked, and eventually came to the end of the road, asking someone if they knew any Pedrina, and they said no, no one by that name lived on that street that they knew of. So, we turned right onto the next road, and asked the people at a house close by. They said that they knew who she was, and that we should just go back on that road, and ask where Telma lives, which is the name of Pedrina's mother. So, we did, and an older gentleman pointed out the house to us. We clapped at the front gate, and to our surprise and delight, Pedrina walked out! She let us in, and we asked her who was at home. She said just her and her little baby brother. We decided to mark for the afternoon to talk to her and her mom together. She said that would be alright, and we left to eat lunch.

After lunch, we went back, and Telma, her mom, go to the house just before we did. As we clapped at the gate, she greeted us, looking a little bit curious or even a bit suspicious. Thankfully, Pedrina came out, and told her mom that she knew who we were, and that we had talked to her before. We came in and sat down, and we found out that Telma had been taught by sister misionaries more than ten years ago in that same area! Apparently, she had gone to church for three or four years, but was never baptized, and then she stopped going. So, we found her again, and we will work with her these next few weeks to see how things will go!

I love this work. What a blessing to be able to work with the children of our Heavenly Father, to preach the truths of the Gospel, and to seek to help build the families here in Brazil, assisting them in their preparation to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for this chance, and for this privilege to serve. I hope and pray that I can be worthy, obedient, and prepared, so that the Spirit can guide us, and magnify our efforts, so that we can accomplish His work in His way, and with His help.

I love you all so very much! When we know the truths of the gospel, we come to realize what things in our lives are really the most important! As was said by a young convert to the Church speaking to President Hinckley, "It's true, isn't it?" After President Hinckley responded yes, the young man tearfully responded, "Then what else matters?" What a wonderful example of sacrifice and the conversion and the love and devotion that we develop when we seek to follow the truths that we learn of His Gospel, and His plan for us.

Have a wonderful week! Don't forget that General Conference is coming up, and that we will get to hear the words of God's living prophets here upon the earth. Please, all who read these messages, take advantage of this sacred and heaven-sent privilege, of receiving His word for us and for our day. For those of you who aren't members of the Church, you, too, are invited to hear their words, and to learn from their messages. You can even watch it live online at the Church website, at http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng. If you would like, you can even listen to messages than were given at the last Conference to see a little bit of what it will be like. You can download, watch, listen to, or read their messages at that same web address. If you have any questions, just talk to a member of the Church that you know, and I'm sure that they will be willing to explain more about it.

Love you all tons and scoops and kilos and liters and kilometers and all of the strange metric units that exist in this country and the world,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

What a Great Week from Maranguape

Hey, all!

This week was incredible:) We had some awesome experiences with fasting and prayer.

So, we were teaching Luis Henrique, who wasn't totally interested in the messages and a little bit shy. We stopped focusing a lot on him because we had other progressing investigators. Then, out of no where, his mom and his sister showed up at church! His mom's name is Socorro, and she was really interested in learning more about the Church. So, we started talking to them and teaching her. She accepted the messages, and was really liking everything. However, she was still feeling nervous and uncertain about leaving the Catholic Church and going through all of these changes. A big part, I think, of what was holding her back was that if she was never really active in the Catholic Church, what's to say that she won't go inactive in the Church of Jesus Christ as well? So, she was hesitant, yet willing to learn and to act. She said that she wanted to be baptized and to follow all of these things in her life, but that she still had this doubt, and didn't know how to get rid of it.

So, we did something that was suggested to us in the Zone Training earlier that week: we challenged her to fast with us. She accepted, with a little bit of hesitation, not knowing if she would be able to stand it for the full 24 hours. We don't usually think about this sort of difficulty where we live in the U.S., but here, in a tropical climate, it can be extremely hard on the body to go without food or drink for 24 hours in this heat and humidity, and for some it can even be dangerous. But, she accepted nonetheless, and we fasted with her. Actually, a few of the members fasted with us as well to show their support, their desire for her to accept the gospel, and their faith in the power of the Spirit.

We started the fast at lunch the next day, and went over to her house that night. She said that she wasn't even feeling hungry, nor the desire to eat or drink, and that the fast was going well. When I asked her about how she was feeling, she also said that her doubts and fears and uncertainties simply weren't there anymore! She felt calm, and confident, and was no longer feeling doubtful about acting. We invited her to be baptized that Sunday, and she accepted wholeheartedly. I was so happy:) We also invited her daughter, Ana Luiza, to be baptized with her mom, and she also accepted. She is eight years old:)

After their interviews, I was told that they had both asked that I baptize them:) So, I had the privilege of doing so yesterday after church.

During the talk that was given on baptism and being born again, Socorro began to cry. I knew that she was feeling comforted by the Spirit that she was making the right choice. After the baptismal service was over, I asked her how she was feeling, and she said, with a firmness and a confidence in her voice, "Good." Everyone says that when you ask how they're feeling, but the way she said it conveyed a certainty and a deepness of feeling. She then said, "I feel like I have truly made the right choice." I told her, "Yes, absolutely, without a doubt, you have."

Her friend Antonia is now one of her visiting teachers. Antonia had actually invited her to church many times, and we didn't have any idea about that while we were teaching her son, Luiz Henrique. So, now, we will try to teach him, too.

Socorro also stopped drinking coffee very quickly, and showed her faith by acting upon an invitation by representatives of Jesus Christ. She is an excellent example of why we, as missionaries, need to invite people to act. She wasn't sure what to do, but she was willing to act upon inspired invitations to live the commandments and to seek after the blessings of heaven for her and for her family. As someone extremely new in the church, she already has a testimony of the power of fasting in her life. When I think about that, I feel so happy and excited and pleased for her.

What a great work this is! If we rely on Him, and do what He asks us to do, we will be guided by His omnipotent hand, and we will begin to see literal miracles in our lives, "day by day" (Alma 37:40). We just have to do the "small and simple things" (Alma 37:6-7), and He will guide and bless us.

I love you all so very, very much! Never forget who you are, or the potential that you have, as you seek to be obedient to His word and His commandments. And try not to forget that we don't have to be perfect to receive those blessings! That's why we have repentance, as well as the Sacrament, to renew all of our covenants each week. Something interesting that I already had an idea about, but saw a direct quite about it, is that when we partake of the Sacrament, we don't just renew our baptismal covenants, but"all covenants entered into with the Lord" (Ensign, "Understanding Our Covenants with God", July 2012). This means that we renew batpismal covenants, priesthood covenants, covenants we make with our callings, missionary covenants, and all of our temple covenants. So, if we make any mistake, we can repent, and renew that covenant with the Lord. So, seek after His voice and His hand, and He will guide you for good.

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful week!

With all the love in my heart,

Elder Reid Powell E