June 19, 2017 (week 88)

This week was good! Although I dont think I really have a ton to say.

Josivane was baptized!! Its been super fun to see her progressing over these few weeks. She was super excited but definitely nervous for her baptism, as you can probably tell in the picture.

So this week was transfers and Im staying in my area with my companion! 6th transfer in the area and 4th with my companion haha só vai.

Im doing well. We’re excited and definitely busy. This will be the last full week of President Bonini, then the week after will be a zone conference and then President Chamberlain gets here!

Well honestly I dont think I have anything else to say this week…

Hope all is well at home!

Elder Lawrence

June 12, 2017 (week 87)

This week was great! Although once again I dont have a ton to write.

The bad news is that Alex pretty much fell off the map. We werent able to find him at home any day this week… We called his friend various times to see what was happening with him, but he didnt know very well. Although this friend got a hold of him and we are hoping to be able to teach him later today.

Other than this problem the semana was really good. Josivane is progressing supper well!! She is super excited for her baptism this week.

This is the last week of the transfer, although Im pretty sure Ill be staying here in the area. It would be my sixth transfer in the area and my fourth with my current companion haha. Its crazy to me the President Bonini is finishing his mission. He only has a few weeks left. Every is anxious for the coming of President Chamberlain,but President Bonini sure will be missed.

Hope all is well at home! Oh also I found mac and cheese here the other day!!!!! I dont even like mac and cheese, but Its been over a year and a half since ive had it so I logically had to buy some haha. Also I made doughnuts for the Elders that are in the same ward as us because they helped us move apartments (I dont remember if i said that we moved or not) Ill attach a picture of the doughnuts!

Elder Lawrence

June 5, 2017 (week 86)

Crazy that it´s already June!! I dont think i really have much to write this week, although its a shame because this keyboard im using is great haha.

So our investigator who is progressing the most is Alex… I dont know what Ive said about him already, but he is great. He was super excited for his baptism on the 11th. He is going to college thats close to here and so hes living far from his family. Hes accepted the gospel so well and knows the church is true. However, on Sunday he told his mom he was going to get baptized and she did not like the idea. Not even a bit. Skipping over the details, Alex knows he should be baptized but said he wont go against his parents. We are going to try to strengthen his testemony this week so that he can have the faith to do what he knows is right. We’re going to bring Wendel to his house as well who had a similar problem which I think should help.

Well I dont really have much else to say.. im doing great here and hope all is going well at home. Its good to be a missionary!

Elder Lawrence

May 29, 2017 (week 85)

This week was good. Although I dont think i have a ton to say.

The highlight of the week was that Jefferson(bruno´s brother) was baptized! And it was Bruno who baptized him! He received the preisthood during the week so he was able to.Also his family came! We have already tried to teach them a few times but it never really worked out. They liked church so we’re going to try to teach them again. Hopefully this time it goes better! It would be great to see them all at church together.

In other news a drunk man followed us and we ended up pretty much running from him haha. I dont knowwhy but drunk people LOVE missionaries. I cant explain why or how but its pretty much impossible to pass by someone drunk without something happening. But this time was a little different. We were knocking doors and someone touched me from behind and when i turned around i was given a flower from the drunk man haha. He tried to give one to my companion too but we just started to leave when we couldnt get him to stop touching us and what not. But then he started to follow us. We thought he would give up quick but he was pretty persistent. We started to walk fast and, as ive been in the area for more than 6 months and know it really well, we started entering in the alleys until we lost him haha. I dont think Ill ever really understand why drunk people love us so much…Although its something I wont miss after the mission haha.

Well I dont really have much else… Oh! This week we went to Wendels house to do a few visits with him and when we got there he was teaching two of his friends about the restauration!! He was actually giving them the pamphlet as they were leaving but he had taught them before. I think I felt the same pride that parents feel when their kids do some accomplishment haha hes been progressing suuuuuper well after his baptism!

Well I think thats all. I hope all is well at home!although from what people say here about Trump im not sure ill be able to enter back in the states after my mission hahah. Im doing well here! Til next week! Ill attatch pictures of Jeffersons baptisms! Someone from the ward made cake,but i wasnt ableto take a picture

Elder Lawrence

May 22, 2017 (week 84)

This week was super good! Although Im not sure I have a ton to say.

So this week we had a mission conference with president Grahl, who is the MTC president in São Paulo which was great!

The highlight of this week was that I saw Francileno e Josiane e Enzo!!! (A family that was baptized when I was in my first area, Beira-mar) They came to our stake conference to surprise me, they asked to elders in their ward where I was serving. They are doing super well! Francileno has read the Book of Mormon 5 times!!! 5 times!!! They both have callings in the church and are really strong! They are going to the temple to be sealed in July!! Its hard to describe the happiness I felt seeing them doing so well and especially that they are going to be going to the temple to be sealed so soon.

Jefferson, Bruno’s brother, is going to be baptized this week! And we have a few other investigators that are doing well and hopefully will be baptized next week.

Well I think thats pretty much it, but Im doing well and I hope you guys are too! It’s great to be a missionary!

Elder Lawrence

May 15, 2017 (week 83)

This week was super good!

On Mother’s day I got to skype my family which was awesome. Although I didnt really have a ton to say. But it was still really nice to see everyone.

This week Osias was baptized!! I think Ive talked about him already.. he is absolutely incredible. He surprises me almost daily with his interest, testemony and how much he has learned. I dont remember what Ive already said about him but Im not sure ive ever taught someone quite like him. He quit smoking without us even inviting him!! After the first visit he quit. We didnt even know he smoked yet! Hes changed durastically in these two weeks, too bad I dont have a picture of him with his big beard haha. Who said you cant teach an old dog new tricks!?

So this week I discovered ive been eating liver haha its called figado here. I just thought it was a type of meat or something but I asked my comp what exactly is figado and learned that its liver. Although its not very tasty.

hope everyone is well at home!

Elder Lawrence

May 8, 2017 (week 82)

This week was great! Today is transfers, but Ill be staying here with Elder Vitor Luis.

Bruno was baptized this week! And it was Wendel (who was baptized a few weeks ago) who baptized him! Ill attatch pictures. In the one picture Maria Clara is the girl on the far right whos been helping us a ton with Bruno and Wendel, as she is their friend. It was awesome to see Bruno after his baptism, he was happy beyound beleif. He already has a strong testemony.

Wendel bore his testemony in church yesterday!! In his testemony he talked about missionary work and how it has changed his life forever. He said a few weeks ago he didnt understand why people felt the need to go in front and tell everyone that they knew the church was true but that he felt that need before giving his testemony. He and Bruno will make great missionaries!

So I wanted to tell you guys about Osias! He is the man. He is 62 and looks like a Rabbi haha. When we talked to him on the street I didnt think that he was that interested, but Elder Vitor Luis thought we should teach him, so we did. And Ever since the first lesson he has been surprising me! He accepted everything, prayed and received an answer! At church I literally saw his eyes being opened as we sung the first hymn. It was incredible. Not wanting to lose the chance I asked him imediately after the hymn but before the prayer how he felt. He said it was emotional. After the first hymn every time it got to a part in the meeting where we would sing he would quickly grab the hymnbook and give it to me to find the hymn for him. He is a simple man but wow is he special. After church he shaved his beard! He said that he didnt see anyone at church with a beard so he decided to shave his! Also after our first lesson with him he quitted smoking. And he had been smoking since he was 12!! We didnt even talk about it, he just quit!! Im not sure Ive ever taught someone quite like Osias!

Well I think thats all. Ill attatch a picture of a banana that I found well I dont know if it would be more correct to say of the bananas that I found hahah

Elder Lawrence

May 1, 2017 (week 81)

This week was good!

Quote of the week from a member: “If you cant live the 10 commandments, at least live 8 or 9.” Not sure thats the greatest advice haha

So I think the highlight of this week was a lesson with Bruno. Out of nowhere he said “remember that you guys said the Spirit usually comes as a feeling?” and then he told us how one day he felt the Spirit super strongly. He struggled to describe what it was like but he said he felt like he wanted to be a saint. It was incredible to see his joy as he tried to describe the feeling. It didnt remember the scripture in the moment but in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 5:2 it says “And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” He’s truly being converted! His baptism will be this week!

Oh I almost forgot! This week Sister Neil F. Marriot (2nd councilor in the young womens presidency) came to fortaleza and visited the two missions here! The conference was super short, but it was great! I thought it was going to be pretty much an amazing pep talk, but she gave us a ton of new and different ways to talk with people on the street and how to better out relationships with our companions. Shes awesome!! The same day we sung Im a child of God in a street contact. For those of you who know my voice, dont worry it was just my companion who sung haha. Sister Marriot gave us an idea to get the Book of Mormon into the hands of the people and to get them to read. Its like this: you stop someone one the street and ask them for help memorizing a scripture that youre trying to memorize, then you give them your Book of Mormon and they check you as you try to remember the scripture. I tried it a few times and I think it worked pretty good! It was at least more fun that what we normally do haha.

I think thats all for this week. Hope all is well at home!

Elder Lawrence

April 24, 2017 (week 80)

This week was good!

The highlight was definitely Wendel’s baptism. He had to pass through a lot of difficulties to be able to get to this point. I dont remember what Ive told you guys of him yet, but Id like to share a little bit. So at the beginning he wasnt really very interested in the church, but very quickly he developed a strong desire to learn more. Sumerizing a lot he was able to obtain an answer from God and really wanted to be baptized. The problem was that he lives with his grandma who hates the church and didnt want him to get baptized at all. Him mom is pretty much the same, although she lives in another neighborhood. So (sumerizing a lot again haha) it was all set, and friday and saturday he went to a church campout with all the youth. When we called him he expressed concern and said he wasnt she anymore if he wanted to get baptized with his family opposing so much. We said wed talk when he got back. He got back saturday night and we had one of the most spiritual lessons that ive had on my mission. Among other scriptures, I read to him ‘”He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”(matt 10) I told him how lucky I consider myself that I dont have to make that decision, but how ive thought about it a lot and if i had to I would. Its hard to describe, but the Spirit was strong. at the end of the lesson he said he wanted to get baptized, and on the following day, he was!! what is awesome is that we promised him blessings and that he wouldnt have to abandon his family and that they would come around and sunday afternoon his grandma called him saying sorry for the way shed been treating him about his choice and if its what he wants she’ll support him!!

Ill attatch some pictures. on a less spiritual note, Wendel plays guitar and sings which the girls of the ward descovered on the campout so that explains the picture haha

quote of the week “I met the missionaries before. Theyve already explained the whole story to me, how you guys are elder because he was the founder of the church”

hope you guys are all doing well!

Elder Lawrence

April 17, 2017 (week 79)

This week was good! Although I pretty sure it was the least Ive done proselyting in one week. We had Monday night, saturday night, and Sunday. On saturday we got to watch a musical (well kind of a musical) thats called “Jesus, O Cristo” which was incredible. Its a play that the church does every year here thats kind of famous. and like the title suggest its al about Christ and His life!

We also had a zone conference on friday which was good.

Wendell is progressing really well! He is super excited and if everything goes well he will be baptized this Sunday!

So I was able to get an adapter this week so ill be able to send a few pictures. One is of a feijoada I made, which is a really common dish here, it actually turned out pretty good! Another is of a division we did where I stayed with Elder Moreno for a dya (dont worry ive cut my hair since that day haha), I put two pictures of two streets in our area, a banana bread I made and one of a grafetti that someone made ahhahh hopefully they all get sent.

I hope everything is well with you guys! Its all going well here and im excited for this week!

Elder Lawrence