The Brazilian Adventure: Week 46 April 14-- April 20

My Dearest beloved Family and Friends:

We are finding some elects again. It is going so great. It is amazing what the Lord can do. I´m so greatful to have the opportunity to be part of this work and the chance I have to be an instrument in the Lords hands. I love helping to change lives. I love serving others. I love helping others become better then they were yesterday. There is no other greater joy. I also love changing also, and I love being better then who I was yesterday. 

So this week, we found a young 17 year old teenager from the old area book. Her name is Renângela. When we taught her, I felt like I was talking to an inactive member. She started going to church when she was 11 years old. When she was 11 years old, she found a pass along card on the floor of her house. She picked it up and told her mom to call the number because they would get a free movie about Christ. And so they did. A few weeks later the missionaries passed by and left a message with them. They invited her to church and she went all by herself. The missionaries then tried teaching the family but the parents didn´t want anything. She still went to church though. She went with a member her age that she knew and her family lived close by Renângela´s house. The missionaries then began to teach her and she believed in everything and believed that it was true. The missionaries then asked if she can get baptised, but the dad didn´t let her get baptised. He said that she had to wait until she was 18 years old. She went to church for 5 YEARS all by herself. But about a year ago she stopped going. We talked to her this week to see why. She told us that she just got burnt out and just gave up. It was hard for her to go by herself without the support of her family. She also had a couple of problems with a leader. But now she forgot her testimony a little. She has a boyfriend who is going to the Baptist church and she is going there now. We are trying to teach her and trying to help her remember her testimony again. I believe that she still has it, deep down she knows that this is His church. It just made me kinda sad inside to see her burnt out like that. She has actually helped a lot of other young teenagers in the church become baptised in our ward today. But I hope things can go good. 

So I have a habit of plucking leaves off of trees when I walk by them. and yesterday I was walking by a house and there was a tree beginning to grow in a plant plot in front of this house, I walked by and gr abed a branch and broke a big peace of the little tree. I had it in my hand and my companion looked at me and gave me the "uuuuuuu you shouldn´t have done that" face. And right behind me we began to hear a Lady screaming at me. I couldn´t understand her. she was drunk but she was so mad at me. I just tried calming her down but she was exploding. My companion just ran ahead and I, in a desperation to calm her down, I tried to put the branch back where I broke it. But then I thougth, ok this is not going to work. I tried talking to her, but she just kept screaming louder in her drunk tone. I just apologized and just layed the branch down next to the tree and just kept walking. My companion could not stop laughing. It was kinda funny afterwards.   

Well I hope you are all doing awesome. I love you so much. and I hope you are all giving this life all you got to become the person that the Lord wants you to be. 

Be happy.

Love The Elder Jones