Family!‏

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing? I´m glad to hear camping was so great for Katie and Alex - it looks just like the pictures of when you used to take us camping when we were little, Mom and Dad! I think climbing red rock and getting dirty are must experiences for little kids.

But as for here, everything´s great! Some interesting ups and downs this week. Let me tell you about all of them -

The first "down" was that Dalva dumped us. She "asked for some time" without our visits. So that was really sad - she´s already had two dreams, been to church a bunch of times, when we took a member there to mark her baptism date she asked the member, "What is it I feel when I pray? I get goosebumps and feel like crying..." The member explained to her that it was the Spirit...so she´s obviously had numerous confirmations that it´s true, she´s just very timid and stuck in her ways, and won´t change her life. There´s not even really anything to change, no addictions to give up or anything...I´m not sure what she´s afraid of. BUt hopefully she´ll realize her mistake in giving up.

Another "down" was that Carolina also dumped us. We had only taught her once, but it was such an amazing lesson that I wrote about her last time, I think, and was so excited to go back this week. So we tried a few times and she wasn´t here, we called and she said she had to work, so we passed by another time and she was there, seemed surprised to see us, and when we said "Do you have time now?" she said "More or less......" So we said we could come back, but she said, "No, I´ll call you." I said, "Yeah, we have your number so we´ll give you a call!" And she said, "No no, just let me call you." So that was depressing - I KNOW she felt the Spirit during that one lesson, I have no idea why she didn´t want to pursue it.

Another interesting experience was a lesson with Fabricio and Jaqueline, a really nice Evangelical family S. Witmer had taught before I got here, and it was our first time going back. It was my first bible-bash! We tried not to bible-bash, but he kept showing us scriptures that "proved" the Book of Mormon wasn´t true, and we kept showing him scriptures that proved it was. So I tried to cut that off as soon as possible and just asked him if he´d prayed about it. He said yes, and that he didn´t feel any peace about it, and he felt the answer he´d gotten was "no". Actually, the answer he said he got was "There is none other above me" (he has the impression that we worship Joseph Smith or something) so the answer he got was actually in confirmation..........but he was too closed minded to understand.

Another fun dip on the roller-coaster of the mission was our experiences knocking doors this week. I´ve gotten more impoliteness here than anywhere else! I think it´s because it´s the most down-town/richest area I´ve been in. Yesterday a woman stuck her head out the window and when I said we were representatives of Jesus Christ, she said "No no, I have my religion." "But it´s independent of religions!" "NO, girl, didn´t you hear me? I wouldn´t waste my time! Let´s find something to do, eh?" So....we had to laugh that one off :P

But the good things about this week topped all those! :D They´re basically all centered around one investigator - Tiago. Tiago is 21, but had a friend named Moroni in high school who invited him to a few things, and he went to church a few times (he said, but then he was acting like it was all new this sunday, so I`m not sure if he just played soccer with them or actually went to church.) But anyway, S. dos Santos found him knocking doors and set up an appointment. So we went and taught him, and it was good, he had a lot of questions, but it wasn´t anything extraordinary. But then when we went back...

He went back and got his Book of Mormon before we had even sat down. He brought it out and said, "First, I have to thank you for this book." I closed my eyes and braced myself for another Fabricio-like reaction. Please don´t give it back, please don´t give it back! But then he said, "I read those parts you asked. And I prayed."
I opened my eyes again and was suddenly filled with excitement.
"And?? And??"
"And I felt so good. I know it´s true."
Sister Witmer and I burst out laughing with happiness!! It was the greatest thing. He smiled, ´probably surprised by us, doing our best not to jump up and down. So we preceded to have an AMAZING lesson. This is how it started:

Tiago: "So let me see if I understood what I read." (usualy WE ask that.) "So the Book of Mormon is the story of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. There was Lehi, who came over from Jeruslem, and then his descendents split into two, the Nephites and the Lamanites. But then even before them there were the Jaredites, who were from...the Tower of Babel or something? I didn´t get that part exactly..."

So I realize writing this that it´s the story of the Book of MOrmon that it tells right in the introduction, so I don´t know if you guys know how amazing that is -- NO ONE I´ve ever taught understood the Book of Mormon so well. He had studied it intensely, gone on Wikipedia and the church website.....he´s the greatest, most interested investigator I´ve ever taught.

He went to church yesterday and loved it! He did teh same thing during church - "Wait, let me see if I understand" during all the classes, and wowed everyone. Everyone after was like, "Wow, Tiago is sharp! I´m excited to have him in the ward!" Everyone he talked to, he said something like, "Yeah, the Sisters are showing me the way. I didn´t know anything before, but they´re teaching me. It´s great..."

So.....that was worth all the hard parts of the week and then some:D I´m so glad to be in a position where I can help people like this, help them know the truth and become members of the true church. It´s the only church that can answer ALL of the questions, that has all the pieces of the puzzle. It´s so wonderful and so true, and I´m so happy to be a part of it. I would gladly do anything for Jesus Christ, and I know my mission is just a small way of serving Him.

I love you all so much! Thank you all for you love and support. I´ll write more next week, telling how we set a date for Tiago´s baptism! :D Have a great week!!!

Love always,
Heather