Living in the Devil's Armpit

Hey guys! Bom dia!

I've been very blessed with weather my whole life. Temecula, CA has the perfect weather almost all year long with the exception of a couple uncomfortably hot months. So take this with a grain of salt, but I'm literally melting here in Muriaé. 

I think it's just the humidity because I am constantly moist. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. Moist.

But it's all good because I absolutely love it here in Muriaé. I have never had more faith in the truths that God prepares people to receive the gospel and guides us to find them. I've had so many experiences recently of stopping to talk to a random person on the street and they readily accept to hear our message. Many of them have even wondered why the missionaries never stopped to talk to them before.

We actually had a mission tour this last week where one of the seventy from the brazil area presidency, (Elder Valenzuela)  came and talked to us for a couple hours. It was really cool to hear his thoughts about the call and purpose of missionary service and he really had us all inspired at the end with the thought that there are WAY more people prepared to recieve the gospel than we realize. It was also really fun because half the mission got together and I got so see almost all my past comps and mission friends.

One thing I've been thinking about recently is how much food I used to eat before the mission and I'm not really sure because I feel like I eat a LOT more now haha. We're the first elders here in a long time and let's just say the members here were not the biggest fans of the sisters that passed through here. So they LOVE us and want to feed us a ton. We had one member tell us several times she was expecting us to eat a lot when we went to each lunch at her house so she made us a big pan of pasta and we ate almost the whole thing. She was shocked and started to tell us to think about what we were doing cause we were gonna get sick. But we were fine 💪

We've got a friend named Lúcia we're teaching, shes an older lady who seems a little lonely but she loves Jesus and she really wants to be baptized! She said she prayed about the stuff we've taught her and knows it's true! We invited her to prepare to get baptized before the end of the month so please pray for her so that everything will go right and the members can help her feel part of the family because that's probably our biggest struggle here 🫥

Here's one of the scriptures Elder Valenzuela shared with us from D&C 88

73 Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.

 74 And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean

I like a couple things about these verses. First of all, I'm a first hand witness that God is hastening his work. And as I've shared more and more people are being led to the gospel where they are willing to recieve it. Second, I like the command he gives for us to assemble, prepare, and purify ourselves. All things that require work on our part. But at the end it's says the He will make us clean. I know that despite all of best efforts we will never be able to prepare ourselves to return to God's presence without Christ's atoning sacrifice. So I'm very thankful for it! And the opportunity I have to share that message which becomes more and more real to me every time I share it.

Love you guys!