Zone Conference, Blessings, Teaching Two Little Boys

E aíiiiiiiii Boa tarde!!

 

I hope everyone had a great week! We were very busy, and I'm very, very worn out. But this week started off with Zone Conference! It was focused on working with the members, and if I've learned anything during my time on the mission, the members are definitely the key to just about everything Haha. So I loved it. In President Crane's training, he talked about baptism and in his own words, he said, "after someone is put on baptismal date, THE MOUTH OF HELL OPENS UP AND ATTACKS THEM!!!" Hahahahaha he was waving his arms, and looked like the picture of Elijah calling down fire from Heaven to burn the barrels from the Preists of Baal. It was hilarious, but it's true. He went on to explain that the members are the key to seeing them through to baptism, because they'll have a friend who will follow up and help. 

 

The rest of the week we've just been working hard and seeing lots of blessings that have come from our work. We went on two exchanges, with the Zone Leaders and The Assistants, I was able to learn a lot from them and we accomplished a lot! 

 

We recently started to teach two little boys, who are 9 and 11, and live across the street from us. We made friends with their family, and we asked their Mom if we could teach the family. She said she wasn't very interested, but she told us to teach her boys because she wants them to learn good principles. So we sat them down, looked at the pictures in one of our pamphlets, and read in 3rd Nephi 17, when Jesus Christ blesses the little children. It was a powerful moment when both of them really understood that Jesus loves them. We taught them how to pray, and they promised to read from the Book of Mormon and pray every day together. It's moments like these that make me want to stay in Brazil forever!

 

I love you all!! Have a great week!

 

Elder Larkin

 

Pics: 

Elijah (for reference to President Crane)

Zone conference 

Exchanges

A hike (Brazil is very beautiful)

And a Parrot!

Rain And Soccer

Boa tarde!! 

This last week was one for the books. I'm pretty sure we set the record for the most appointments that fell through hahaha. It happens! Can't have the good without the bad. 

BUT! We had a couple pretty incredible things happen too. On Tuesday, my companion and I were walking down the road when we saw a group of kids playing soccer on a patch of dirt off to the side of a river. I felt like we needed to go down and talk to them, so we did! They asked us to play with them, and they were impressed that I actually knew how to play hahaha we played a couple games and talked for a minute afterward with them. They're super funny and we made fast friends. Some of them even gave us their numbers and we started teaching them! Definitely a huge miracle.

I also had an exchange with Elder Royk! Normally he works in Barra de Jangada, another area in my District. It was super fun to get to know him better and we got a lot of work done. Also, when we were walking to get out lunch, we got caught in the middle of the biggest rainstorm I have ever seen. There was so much water!! It poured and poured, and we walked for about an hour to get there. We arrived soaked, but it made the lunch taste that much better hahaha

The other day we were able to do a fun service project! One of the sisters in the ward told us about an older couple who moved in who needed some help cleaning up their yard. It was completely overgrown with weeds, so we spent one of our mornings clearing out their front yard! It was honestly so much fun. I realized how much I miss doing yard work Haha. And the couple was so nice! The man is from Bolivia, he moved to Recife when he was 14, all alone, to find work. That's how he met his wife and they've been together ever since! We hope we get the chance to teach them. 

We also had a miracle happen today! My companion and I went out to grab a couple things from the market, and on the way back we passed the street of one of the members in our ward who sells sacolè (basically popsicles, but a little different) and my companion asked if I wanted to grab some. So I said why not! We went, and we chatted with her for a while. After we left, she called about an hour later to tell us she had woken up feeling terrible. She was having a bad day and had prayed for help to feel better. Soon after, we showed up! I was so glad she was able to feel better after our visit. I was also glad she was willing to share with us what had happened. Most often we don't get to know the results of our visits. But today I was shown that our Heavenly Father really does know His children and He hears our prayers. I'm so grateful that I was able to be His hands to help one of His daughters feel a little better.

I love all of you guys so much! Thank you for all of the support you give me. It means more than you know! 

Até mais!

Elder Larkin

Henrique Was Baptized!

Olá todos? Como vocês estão?? 

What an incredible week we had. We've been working hard and we definitely had our spiritual pay day! We got to listen to the Prophet, 20 new temples were announced in the middle of a pandemic (the work still goes forward), and we had a baptism (yes, the work DEFINITELY still goes forward). 

This week we met with Henrique who has met with the missionaries for a very long time. We met with him and we read the introduction to the Book of Mormon. At the end I asked him if we believes that the Book of Mormon is true and if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints really is the kingdom of God on the earth today, and he said yes! So I asked him if there was anything holding him back from baptism, and he said no. So I asked him if he would be baptized that Saturday, he accepted, and we had a baptism!

But backing up a little bit, I was talking to my companion and we both felt like there was something different going on in the lesson we had with Henrique. There was a different spirit and everything just clicked. Well, come to find out, his family knew we would be meeting that night, and that day they all decided to fast and pray for his baptism to happen. I'm convinced that it was because of the faith of his family that he accepted. His wife wanted so bad to have a priesthood holder in her home, and he was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood immediately following his baptism (his entire family are members). They had faith and did they something about it. After they exercised their faith, the miracle happened. And I was just grateful to be a part of it. 

I also really loved Conference. I found a lot of comfort and peace in all of the messages that were shared. We have leaders who receive revelation to provide guidance and answers to our questions, what a blessing! 

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Larkin