Choice vs Chance

Pizza at Irmã Lina’s

Hello, family!!!

HAPPY BDAY POPS! In Brasil they say, Parabéns! It means congratulations!

Also, Happy Dia de Finados / Dia de Los Muertos! Today is a public holiday to celebrate.

This was a good week for us! We worked hard, had lots of fun and ate lots of açaí.

And we went to the temple in Campinas!

We got up at 4am Wednesday morning to go to the temple; we had about a 3 hour bus ride to get there. I slept most of the way, which was a blessing. I needed sleep haha. I think every missionary needs more sleep because we are all exhausted at the end of the day! The session was in Portuguese, of course, and I understood everything! That was pretty cool, I thought. It was cool to see how much more I understood from when I was in the CTM to now. I’ve learned a whole lot!

This week I also overheard “Unconditionally” by Katy Perry. That too was a blessing.

We have been visiting a little old lady named Irmã Lina (Sister Lina) for some time now because she isn’t able to leave her house due to health reasons, and she loves the missionaries. She aways offers to buy us pizza when we go visit and we feel bad because we never pay, so this week WE brought money to buy the pizza! And we brought her açaí to eat as well! It was a righteous party, I do say. We shared a spiritual thought about ‘“O Plano de Salvação,” and it was a good time.

This week another investigator was talking to us, but left to do homework when her mom came into the room and started talking to us. She asked us if we knew what a Menorah symbolized, and so, thanks to World Religions 351 at BYU, I was able to answer her question, and then also was able to explain the difference between Menorah and Hanukkah. She was very surprised because no one had ever been able to explain it to her before, and she then invited herself to church!

This week at church was Fast and Testimony meeting, so Elder Martins and I started our fast Saturday after lunch and didn’t eat or drink until Sunday at lunch. Full 24 hours. I bore my testimony about families and said that families are fountains of faith because they give us hope for the future, because we know they can be eternal through the blessings of the temple. I quite like my family and am very glad that we have been sealed together forever!

That was this week, and it was good. Had some great discussions on faith, and faith growing not by chance but by being a choice. I’m growing my testimony everyday and am trying to help others do the same! Next Sunday we will find out if we are being transferred or not, so we will see. I don’t want to leave Satélite, so I’m feeling a little nervous. Please keep all of us here in your prayers.

Love you all and will be praying for you!

Elder Hughes

 

Pizza with corn. So good.

Campinas Temple