Okay so my week had maybe the biggest two milestones of mission so far...
1 - Meeting an apostle (D Todd Christofferson)!!!
2 - barbecuing a whole rack of cow ribs!
The bad news is I forgot my sd card at the apartment so there won't be pics in today’s email.
Fred from Lago Sul said he stood for 5 and half hours as a volunteer in the organization crew of the event with Elder Christofferson, but he also said that he loved it!
I am still getting used to the new area, but I feel really blessed for being here. The members are great and help us a whole lot. And they make the best food ever... They are trying to send me home fat...
We take a lot of buses that make me pretty dang car sick. And everything is far away. Meeting new investigators is a bit of challenge here because the majority of the area is gated condominiums.
We made plans this week to organize a luau-hawaiian night in which the relief society and the elders quorum will compete in helping out the missionary work, and the losers will have to do a hula dance in front of everyone.
Anyway, life is great! We have another barbecue to go to tonight woohooo!!!!!!
Our training with Elder Christofferson was pretty surreal. I stood up and asked him a question. Everyone afterward said that I looked very nervous to ask it hahaha... He explained to us that when doctrine and covenants (D&C 6:9) says that we should say nothing except repentance, this means that everything we do and say should have the intent to declare that "there is a savior" and help people receive the joy of naturally repenting and coming unto Christ.
I have to admit however, that my favorite talk from the conference was from his wife, Sister Christofferson. In II Kings chapter 4, we read the story of a widow whose debt, by law, was to be paid giving her son as a slave to her creditor. She asked the prophet Elisha for help. He told her to go with her sons and seek empty oil vessels from neighbors and friends. Afterwards, she would take the only vessel of oil that she had and fill the vessels she was able to retrieve. And thus she did, miraculously filling all of the vessels retrieved, and paying her debt with the many vessels of oil. Sister Christofferson called our attention to verse six, in which we read,
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
The last word "stayed," we can understand by the annotations as meaning, "stopped." Here's the interesting part. The oil in her vessel only ran out when her vessels or in other words, the room she provided to receive the blessings, ran out.
Oh, how we limit ourselves as partakers of the blessings that God is willing and eager to give us! Does anybody remember that one Mormon Message, "Your Potential, Your Privilege?"
Sister Christofferson then took this to the topic of receiving answers to our prayers. God, without fail, always answers our faithful and just prayers. In D&C 6:14, God reminds Joseph Smith of this, saying,
14 ...as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit.
The challenge really isn't getting our answer. It's hearing, understanding, and accepting the answers He so often is giving us. It has less to do with the amount of oil that he'll give us and more to do with number of vessels we put at his disposition.
I know that Christ lives and has effectuated Heavenly Father's plan of redemption with His infinite atonement. This is His church restored on the earth today.
Love,
Elder George
For news about Elder Christofferson's visit to Brazil and a picture of Sonny go to
https://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-christofferson-assures-members-in-brazil-that-better-days-await?lang=eng&_r=1&cid=HP_MO_17-4-2017_dCN_fCNWS_xLIDyC_
1 - Meeting an apostle (D Todd Christofferson)!!!
2 - barbecuing a whole rack of cow ribs!
The bad news is I forgot my sd card at the apartment so there won't be pics in today’s email.
Fred from Lago Sul said he stood for 5 and half hours as a volunteer in the organization crew of the event with Elder Christofferson, but he also said that he loved it!
I am still getting used to the new area, but I feel really blessed for being here. The members are great and help us a whole lot. And they make the best food ever... They are trying to send me home fat...
We take a lot of buses that make me pretty dang car sick. And everything is far away. Meeting new investigators is a bit of challenge here because the majority of the area is gated condominiums.
We made plans this week to organize a luau-hawaiian night in which the relief society and the elders quorum will compete in helping out the missionary work, and the losers will have to do a hula dance in front of everyone.
Anyway, life is great! We have another barbecue to go to tonight woohooo!!!!!!
Our training with Elder Christofferson was pretty surreal. I stood up and asked him a question. Everyone afterward said that I looked very nervous to ask it hahaha... He explained to us that when doctrine and covenants (D&C 6:9) says that we should say nothing except repentance, this means that everything we do and say should have the intent to declare that "there is a savior" and help people receive the joy of naturally repenting and coming unto Christ.
I have to admit however, that my favorite talk from the conference was from his wife, Sister Christofferson. In II Kings chapter 4, we read the story of a widow whose debt, by law, was to be paid giving her son as a slave to her creditor. She asked the prophet Elisha for help. He told her to go with her sons and seek empty oil vessels from neighbors and friends. Afterwards, she would take the only vessel of oil that she had and fill the vessels she was able to retrieve. And thus she did, miraculously filling all of the vessels retrieved, and paying her debt with the many vessels of oil. Sister Christofferson called our attention to verse six, in which we read,
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
The last word "stayed," we can understand by the annotations as meaning, "stopped." Here's the interesting part. The oil in her vessel only ran out when her vessels or in other words, the room she provided to receive the blessings, ran out.
Oh, how we limit ourselves as partakers of the blessings that God is willing and eager to give us! Does anybody remember that one Mormon Message, "Your Potential, Your Privilege?"
Sister Christofferson then took this to the topic of receiving answers to our prayers. God, without fail, always answers our faithful and just prayers. In D&C 6:14, God reminds Joseph Smith of this, saying,
14 ...as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit.
The challenge really isn't getting our answer. It's hearing, understanding, and accepting the answers He so often is giving us. It has less to do with the amount of oil that he'll give us and more to do with number of vessels we put at his disposition.
I know that Christ lives and has effectuated Heavenly Father's plan of redemption with His infinite atonement. This is His church restored on the earth today.
Love,
Elder George
For news about Elder Christofferson's visit to Brazil and a picture of Sonny go to
https://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-christofferson-assures-members-in-brazil-that-better-days-await?lang=eng&_r=1&cid=HP_MO_17-4-2017_dCN_fCNWS_xLIDyC_