Well like always I'm not sure where to begin other then the fact that this week was great. For those of you who arent counting today is my 10 month mark here on the Mission... Its actually really crazy how fast this is going by. It feels like only yesterday I was drinking my last Jamba, saying my goodbyes to friends in Rexburg, and spending my last day with my family in Utah before I entered the MTC... Time is an interesting thing and wow it passes by fast. I do need everyone to know that I love this Gospel with all my heart and I love my Mission. There is no other place I wold rather be then here in Brasil compartilhado meu amor pelo evangelho de Jesus Cristo. This time is Sacred for me and I love it here. :)
Last week I didnt have time to share some stories with everyone of things that happened that were pretty awesome so today I want to share one Experince that happened two weeks ago and one that happened last night. Two weeks ago I had my eyes once again opened to the importance of Families. A member we were having lunch with asked us if we would be willing to diliver some food to an older man who lives close by and just lost his wife and lives alone. We didnt know who he was and he wasnt a member of the Church so this was a perfect Missionary moment for us. We agreed and prepared the food. It wasnt to far of a walk and when we arrived to the house we noticed a tiny old man waiting by the door... now when our member said she needed us to deliver some food to an older man I was picturing some one in there 60s or 70s but he was in his late 90s. His name is Portugal and hes one of the nicest old men I've ever meet in my whole life. He lead us into his nice humble home and we began to talk with him. From the start I knew he was very lonley.... He told us thats its been quiet some time before anyone has talked with him or stoped by. We ended up talking with him for a very long time about the Gospel and about the Church. As we began talking of our believes and of the Saviors Love for us he began to cry... he explained to us how lonley he was and how much he missed his dear wife. I couldnt help but cry too as he told us of the love he has for her. I began to think of my Parents and of my grandparents and of the Love I have for them. I also began to think of my Future Family and Wife as well and the love I want to have for them. Its was a lot of emotion to handle as the Lord was trying to teach me a valuable lesson during this time. The man Portugal didnt accept our message but we are still trying to help. He explained that he has children but they dont like to visit.... It almost tore my heart out to hear these words. I want everyone to please understand just how important Familes really are... I wish you could feel these experinces or understand whats happening to ben and I on the Mission but its impossible to Describe! OUR FAMILIES ARE EVERYTHING! This is the main purpose of why we are here is to have families within the Gospel. I want everyone to know that families are eternal and they are essencial in the Plan of God for us. I love you Family
My next story happened last night and it also centers around Families. These past few weeks my amazing companion and I have been teaching a wonderfull family. (If you all remember the young boy Igor who I Baptised a little while back, its his Family.) Well they came to church yesterday and yesterday was fast and testimmony meeting. (I love Fast and Testimony meeting!) and the meeting was incredible. I had the chance to bear my testimony of my Love for all who were there and the Spirit really touched my Heart. Well yesterday we had the chance to talk with this family about the Experinces they had at church and when we began the lesson Igors mother stoped and said "Elder Doggett e Elder Larsen eu tenho alguma coisa quero falar para vocês. Hoje durante a Igreja eu senti o Espirito entro meu coração e sei que estas coisas são verdadeiras. Eu quero ser Batizado." What she said in English is that she knew these things where true and she wanted to be baptised the following Sunday (Next Sunday) She told us this with tears in her eyes and I've never felt so much happiness in my whole life. As we began talking more with the Family their 23 year old daughter began to cry and she told us that she has never had friends like Elder Larsen and I... That no one has ever treated her or her family with more kindness or Love in all her life. She told us that she always believed Americans were just rich mean people but when she met us she just thought we were crazy Americans who were way over the top Happy haha, but when we taught them the message of the restored Gospel they explained that they knew where to find this crazy joy that two Americans had and they where willing to do anything for it. It was a speciel night for all of us and I hope they will be able to withstand the temptations of this coming week. The mother has a problem with the Word of Wisdom and law of Chastity and so does the Daughter but I know that they will be alright and that they will succed! I wish you could have seen the light in their eyes as they said they know this is church is true and they would like to be Baptised and do all they can to follow our Savior... It was incredible and I will never forget last night, and to be honest I'm not worried at all because they had such a desire to change.
I love this Gospel and I wish I could sit here and write a million more stories for you all of the lifes I'm seeing change because of the Saviors loving hand... In honesty I'm doing nothing here... all I do each day is carry a message about our Saviors love and the real teacher (The Holy Ghost) is changing lifes. I wish you all could see him work on these investigators because its pretty incredible. I'm just lucky to have the chance to sit here and be a witness of his incredible work. :) Never forget I love this Gospel and that Missions are more then just a two year stretch of time... Missions are a time where we get to see miracles everyday... Where we get the chance to witness the Holy Ghost change lifes including our own. :) I love you all and I hope that this week will be a special one for you all. I want you to know that I really miss you all a lot but i know this is where I need to be. I love this Gospel, its true it really is. Love Elder Matthew Ryan Doggett
No comments:
Post a Comment