Walking in White Fields: My Brasil, Your Brazil

From October 19, 2015

My dear friends, Family, Related others.

I have some good news and some bad, and as I'm optimistic that the bad won’t last long, I'll start with it. I'm Forgetting INGLESE!!! Desculpa mai! Mas é verdade, esto virando uma destas pessoas que será gringo em todos os países! Então, com permissão de tudo mundo, eu vou falar em um língua estranho, Americano. [Sorry, Mom! But it's true, I’m turning into one of these people who will [?] in all countries! Then, with permission of all the world, I will speak in a strange language, American.]

The good news is that we are working ourselves until a baptism comes out of this transfer!!!! And it's starting to pay off. We have two potentials, one is the ever persistent Robson... He's great and all that, but we have an issue with him. GO TO CHURCH! The other is a man we found this week, and I'd love to tell you all the story.

We were walking to our last "programmed" lesson of the day on Thursday. In Xarquinho, about 7:30 at night, meaning we had about 1 hour to get walking to get home in time. I was tired, it had been a hot day, and I was about ready to just teach the last lesson and get on the last bus home. My companion, however, was paying a little more attention to the Spirit, thank heavens he was, and felt impressed to knock one last door. Out came José Carlos, dark, thick beard, baseball hat and all. I thought O shoot, this contact is going to be a handful. I'd had some moments on my mission where I had been surprised; this experience knocked my socks off. He let us in after an introduction of under 2 minutes, introduced himself, and said "I already talked to some of your friends in Curitiba; I read the pamphlet they gave me; I'd like to know more." So we went back two days later, taught the plan of salvation, and he marked a date with us to be baptized on the first Saturday of o próximo mes [next month] ... Sorry forgetting inglese [English].

LESSONS: 1, the day is never over. 2, the least likely of people can be baptized with faith. 3, DON'T GET CAUGHT BY STEALTH RAIN! 4, Read the scriptures every day.

My ponderize scripture this week is Helaman 10:4: “ Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.”

Have a great week! Elder Joel A. Smith