11/11/2008

Hello Everyone,

This week has been very good for us. Though it has been very very hot here. The good side is I am getting a nice tan, on my arms and face. Since I am always wearing pants my legs are very white. But that's not really important. This week we had my first baptism. In fact we had a lot of things happen this week. First we have finally gotten though and can start helping an inactive family. They are really good people but he doesn't want to open up and let her into his personal life, and when talking with him. Well he is committing adultery, and wants to do the things that are right for his kids and wife but he knows that if he tells the truth to her that she will leave him, which she said to us. But he wants to be with the kids. So we need to strengthen their relationship until the point where they can endure this trial and come out closer and stronger. That is very good news this week, Jaciane is the name of the person we baptised, she is very very cool. We started teaching her two months ago, in fact we were teaching her brother, and she started showing up, after a while we started going to her house. And she was perfectly prepared. She drank alcohol and coffee, but when we explained that its bad for us she stopped. In fact that day(the day we taught that principle) she had just bought a brand new container of coffee, she said that she didn't need it anymore and we took it for her. Her only problem is she is very timid and doesn't really like to be a center of attention. So we didn't announce her baptism at church, and didn't tell anyone except the people necessary. Well some people saw us filling the swimming pool because we don't have a font here, and they told everyone else. There was tons of people at her baptism, but she has a testimony and her heart is in the right place and she was baptised anyway. It was cool I was able to baptise her. In my journal I wrote, that I was able to help my first person through the door to eternal life and more blessing and joy then she is able to imagine. It was very cool. This transfer we should have a few more baptisms, we are teaching a group of teenagers which is really cool. At times they are a little unruly, because I cant spell the word I want to use. But there hearts are good and they want to do the right things. We should baptise 7-9 of them in two weeks. Which will really boost the amount of youth that we have here. Things are progressing, this Sunday the president of the branch asked Elder Bemuyal and I to give talks about the branch mission plan, and to help animate the members about sharing the gospel with there friends. I am not really a person of many words and I didn't have a ton of time to prepare my talk. But I found myself speaking perfect Portuguese, and talking for a little longer then I wanted to be talking. But that's not super important. It was a little funny because everyone remembers the first time I gave talk in church, and they were very excited that they understood everything I said. That's all I have to say about that.
Elder Simpson