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Hello all!
This week was a really good week! T’was New
Year’s, and we Elders from Cidade Jardim partied until 7:00pm! Yes, P.M.! We were
in the apartment at 7:00pm, and were advised not to leave due to the wild
festivities that were to occur in the streets haha. We watched some fireworks
and then later got some sleep, but only after having a small celebration feast
of cookies and herbal tea. Good stuff.
I actually woke up right at midnight to welcome
2016. There were all sorts of fireworks and sirens and such making a racket; hence
I woke up. But it was awesome! Elder Amâncio woke up at 3am to welcome the New
Year due to his being from another state and the time difference and such.
Funny stuff. On New Year’s Day, we were invited to the Bishop’s house (and he
absolutely magnifies his calling; it’s awesome to see) for a bbq dinner, or churrasco.
Tasty.
There was crazy rain this week which was wild—flooded
streets and other things like that. They say it’s summer here, but I remain skeptical.
On January 1, I started reading the Book of
Mormon in Portuguese from cover to cover with the goal to read it together with
Elder Amâncio during his training. I’ve been reading in Portuguese of course,
but this is now a definite goal to accomplish within a few months. Even in just
a week I’ve felt the spirit so strongly, and have been able to understand so
much better. I’d been praying for inspiration for what my resolutions should
be, or if I should make any, and this was one of the things that kept coming to
mind. So I made the goal, and have already seen the blessings. Once again,
James 1:5 pulls in for the win when you lack wisdom!
A phrase from my reading this past week that is
very motivating to me: “Eu vou acordar e servir até o pó!” — roughly “Awake,
and shake off the dust.” I think that is an awesome phrase. I’m working hard
and working to give my all. It can be stressful, but I am loving it.
As for the work in the area, we have been
meeting with several people who are learning and who are progressing towards baptism.
We’re super excited for them! We are also starting to work with many new people
too, and we are happy with opportunities here in the area—helping
through service and helping others come closer to Christ (I think I may be the
one learning the most). Awesome stuff here in this area now!
Because of the rains, the chapel here flooded
really pretty good. We got to the church Sunday morning to see a flurry of mops
and rags and buckets. Everyone instantly rushed to help clean up and there was
no complaining. Through it all, the sacrament was still prepared. Each person was
doing their part and what was needed to make it possible for everyone to take
the sacrament this week. I learned a whole lot from the examples that I saw
about how we should act as disciples: acting in all diligence to serve our
neighbors, without complaint, and with a smile.
That was it for the week! I hope you are all
doing well and I love you all! Happy New Year!
The book is blue; the church is true,
Elder Hughes
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