11-22-10 FOUR Baptisms!!

11-22-10

ANYWAYS, I HAVE A NEW COMPANION. HE IS ELDER PRIETO OLIVEIRA FROM SÃO PAULO. ELDER WELLS LEFT THIS MORNING AND I WILL REMAIN HERE IN SAN MARTIN WITH ELDER PRIETO OLIVEIRA. HE HAS ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME ON THE MISSION AS ME, AND SPEAKS NO ENGLISH. AT FIRST HE TOLD ME THAT WE ARE CO-SENIORS, BUT THEN APPARENTLY HE CALLED THE ZLS AND THEY TOLD HIM HE IS SENIOR. EITHER WAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER. I TOLD HIM IT DIDN'T MATTER MUCH TO ME-- AS LONG AS I HAVE A GOOD SENIOR THAT WANTS TO WORK HARD, I DON'T MIND BEING JUNIOR.

THIS WEEK WAS A ROLLER COASTER!!! SOME SUPER STRESSFUL THINGS HAPPENED BUT IN THE END,  EVERYTHING TURNED OUT AMAZING. YES CÁSSIA WAS BAPTIZED. AND ADLÂN, [AND ON SUNDAY I GOT TO BAPTIZE] CONCEIÇÃO, AND HER BROTHER ANDERSON!

                                                          Cassia

                                                         Elder Wells, Adlán, Elder Hooke

                               Elder Wells, Elder Hooke, Anderson & Conceição (brother & sister)
SO ELDER WELLS AND I WORKED NONSTOP THIS WEEK WITH THESE PEOPLE (AND MORE). WE LITERALLY COULDN'T EVEN EAT DINNER TILL 9:30 WHEN WE RETURNED HOME FOR THE NIGHT! SOME BAD THINGS HAPPENED WITH CÁSSIA'S FAMILY THAT WE THOUGHT FOR SURE WOULD KEEP THE BAPTISM FROM HAPPENING. BUT WE DECIDED WE'D JUST PRAY WITH HER. SHE TOLD US AFTER THE PRAYER SHE FELT MUCH MUCH MORE AT PEACE ABOUT EVERYTHING, AND THE SITUATION TURNED OUT TO BE NOT QUITE AS BAD A WE HAD THOUGHT. RIGHT AFTER THAT TEREZA (CÁSSIA'S MOM) CAME UP TO US AND TOLD US "EU VOU ME BATIZAR NA IGREJA CERTA, A IGREJA DE VOCES" (I'M GONNA GET MYSELF BAPTIZED IN THE TRUE CHURCH, YOURS). WE WERE PRETTY SURPRISED AND SO THAT WAS PRETTY AWESOME. SHE WANTS TO WAIT TILL AFTER HER EYE SURGURY TO GET BAPTIZED, BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS... SO YEAH CASSIA'S BAPTISM WAS SATURDAY NIGHT AND IT WAS GREAT. ELDER WELLS BAPTIZED HER, AND AFTER EVERYONE LEFT WE FOUND OUT HER NAME IS LONGER THAN WE'D THOUGHT, RITA DE CÁSSIA DE MENDONÇA [AND ON], AND SO SHE HAD TO GET BAPTIZED AGAIN, WHICH SHE WAS FINE WITH.

WE HAD A WARD TALENT SHOW AFTER AND IT WAS CRAZY! THE BISHOP AND HIS FAMILY RAN THE THING AND HAD LOTS OF GAMES, CONTESTS, AND STUFF IN BETWEEN THE ACTS. AND HE RANDOMLY TOLD EVERYONE THAT I WAS GONNA COME UP AND PLAY AND SING SOMETHING ON GUITAR BY THE BEATLES... SO I DID. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE HAD A SORE THROAT THE LAST FEW DAYS AND MY VOICE WAS TERRIBLE. BUT FORTUNATELY ANOTHER GUY, THE BISHOPS BRO IN LAW, CAME UP AND STARTED SINGING IT FOR ME. IT'S FUNNY TO HEAR BRAZILIANS SING ENGLISH SONGS THEY'VE HEARD MANY TIMES, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE SOUNDS OF THE WORDS BUT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. BUT IT WAS VERY FUN.

EARLIER IN THE WEEK WE WERE TEACHING CONCEIÇÃO, AND ANDERSON LISTENED IN. AFTERWARD WE MARKED HIS BAPTISM FOR THE SAME DAY AS HERS. HE HAS ALREADY QUIT SMOKING AND ALL HE NEEDED WAS TO GO TO CHURCH ONE MORE TIME. SO IT WORKED WELL. THE TWO OF THEM BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND MORE OF WHAT THIS BAPTISMAL COMMITMENT IS, AND WE WILL CONTINUE HELPING THEM. LAST NIGHT, WE WENT BY TO SAY BYE (ELDER WELLS LEFT) AND PLAYED SOME QUALITY UNO.

AND ADLÂN FINALLY GOT HIS DAD´S SIGNATURE! HE WAS BAPTIZED BY ELDER WELLS LAST NIGHT IN THE MOST SPIRITUAL BAPTISM I EVER ATTENDED. EVERYONE WAS SO HAPPY, AND HE TOLD US THAT HE IS GONNA FIND ANOTHER "ADLÂN" AND BAPTIZE HIM! WE ARE CONFIDENT HE'LL SERVE A MISSION IN A YEAR. I ALSO FOUND OUT LAST NIGHT FROM THE BISHOP THAT THE FIRST TIME HE MET ADLÂN, HE WAS MORE LIKE SAUL. HE HAD LOTS OF DOUBTS AND WAS LOOKING FOR ERRORS IN THE CHURCH. THE BISHOP BECAME VERY WORRIED FOR HIS MEMBER GIRLFRIEND, NATHALIA. ADLÂN HAD ALSO SAID, AND DONT WORRY I WOULD NEVER GET BAPTIZED FOR NATHALIA. HE ALSO TOLD ELDER WELLS THE FIRST TIME THEY MET THAT HE DIDN'T WANNA GET BAPTIZED OR ANYTHING, HE JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW WE WOULD ANSWER HIS QUESTIONS. ONE MORE AWESOME THING ABOUT HIS BAPTISM LAST NIGHT WAS THAT AFTERWARDS, HE PULLED ELDER WELLS AND I ASIDE TO ASK IF WE'D FOUND AN ANSWER TO A PARTICULAR QUESTION HE HAD. WE HADN'T FOUND A GREAT ANSWER, BUT HE SAID, BASICALLY, "DONT WORRY. I KNOW IT'S TRUE AND THAT STUFF DOESN'T MATTER TOO MUCH ANYMORE. BUT I DID FIND AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION ON MY OWN."     THEN I TOLD HIM ABOUT HOW I STILL HAVE A MILLION QUESTIONS AND THEY WILL NEVER STOP. WE TALKED ABOUT FAITH AND LOGIC. THEN WE GAVE HIM A WHITE SHIRT AND TIE. GREAT NIGHT.

[I asked him if they have anything like Thanksgiving there.] I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT HERE. THEY HAVE TONS OF RANDOM HOLIDAYS THOUGH. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE CELEBRATING, THEY JUST KNOW THEY HAVE A DAY OFF. AND YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL BECAUSE THERE IS LOUD MUSIC PLAYING ON EVERY STREET CORNER AND EVERYONE IS DRUNK.

HAVE A GOOD THANKSGIVING!

THANK YOU FOR THE EMAILS, SUPPORT, PRAYERS, MAIL, PACKAGES, AND EVERYTHING. LOVE YOU TOO

ELDER HOOKE