One more week down in the books! It´s amazing how fast the weeks go by. Time really flies when you´re doing the work of the Lord!
This week was a little slower, but still good. So my companion, Sister Juarez, is the Sister Training Leader for our zone. It´s really awesome, but also really sad because she has to go on splits with other companionships 1 or 2 times everyweek. The other sister in our apartment, Sister Rondon, is the other Sister Training Leader. So they´ll leave for the day and I and Sister Parraga will stay together and either work in my area, Pina, or her area, Boa Viagem. Sister Parraga is wonderful, but it´s hard not having Sister Juarez haha. But anyways this last monday, we had splits and had to work in the Pina area. And I was SUPER stressed and worried about it because Sister Parraga doesn´t know the area or our investigators and so I become the senior companion in a way. And I honestly don´t know the area very well. And anyone that knows me, knows that I´m horrible with directions haha. But it was amazing how much help we received the entire day. We honestly would always just end up at the houses we needed to go to. I know that we were led by the Spirit, because I know it definitely wasn´t me finding the houses haha. And then every person we planned on teaching was there, which was also a huge blessing because generally during the day we can´t find people we planned to teach and have to make a new plan. But I don´t think I could have handled that haha. So Tuesday was a huge tender mercy for me.
Still no baptisms this week :( We weren´t able to find Eriko all week until yesterday and he´s struggling a little bit with finding the courage to leave the Baptist Church. But we´re going to work a lot with him this week and hopefully get him back on track.
Yesterday was really good. I always love Sundays. There´s an older man in our ward that gives Sister Juarez and I chocolate every Sunday haha. Yesterday we got Snickers haha. So after church when we were waiting at the bus stop and a super drunk guy came up to the bus stop and I saw him staring at our nametags and I started to get super nervous. And then he came over to us and started yelling at us saying "Anderson! Juarez! What?! Why do you have mens´ names! Are you a boy??" hahaha. Because I guess here in Brazil Anderson and Juarez are boy names. So he just kept going on and on about it and everyone was staring at us and it was pretty crazy haha. But, it actually ended up being a good missionary opportunity! Because after he left we were able to explain to everybody else at the bus stop who we are and then give them pass along cards haha.
Something that I studied this week that really touched me was in 1 Nephi 17 in the Book of Mormon. It´s the story about Nephi and when the Lord commands him to build a ship. I love when Nephi asks where he should go to find materials to make tools to make the ship. He doesn´t expect God to build the ship for him or even to give him the tools to make the ship. Nephi truly understood the effort that we need to put forward in this life. God most definitely could have just given Nephi a ship-- but there were things for Nephi to learn in this experience. And Nephi understood that. It reminded me of a talk from this last General Conference that everyone should read if they have time. It´s by Dale G. Renlund and talks about this example of Nephi. He never expects God just to do things for him. He knows that he has to put forth the effort- to study, to ask- and then God is going to help him and lead him. Nephi doesn´t always think that his life is unfair, but understands that the Savior had the most unfair life of all and because he understands this, he wants to do all he can to serve the Lord. I hope all that makes sense haha. Study 1 Nephi 17 and the talk by Elder Renlund and then maybe what I´m saying will make more sense! haha.
I hope everyone has a good week! Tchau!
Sister Anderson
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