Boom!
So in honor of this week and me and my companion talking about M*A*S*H, my letter is titled as such. This week was quite fun I think because of the wonderful work that we have, being able to share such a message about Christ.
We have an investigator whose entire family are members and he has heard all that really can be told to him, but he has just never felt that the Gospel was something to change his life. He has 3 daughters who are all very active but his wife is inactive. Well we started talking with him on Monday last week and had 2 discussion with him, and wow it is amazing to see the change that has already occured. At the first visit we focused on "What is and why do we have, The Book of Mormon?" He seemed quite pensive and I just was praying that he would read it for himself. Then on our second visit this last week he was different. HE was reading. HE was acting and thinking on his own about the Gospel and HE was praying. He even went to his "almost" ex-wifes house to talk about a divorce so he could get baptized! We did not even have to tell him to do that!!! It is just incredible to see the effect that the fullness of the truth can have on someone to better there life. He is asking great questions like " my daughters are baptized but they still fight and have problems, why?" It is fantastic to hear this!!!! It shows he really has the desire. The Book of Mormon teaches us (in Alma 22) that the Lord simply requires the desires of our hearts to guide us. Then....HE CAME TO CHURCH!!!!! He came, he participated, and really understood why we are called " The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." Oh it was great to see him there!
We also have a new investigator family that we passed by on Saturday. My companion was a little sick and I was in charge of talking to them. As soon as we came in and sat down, Marlo, the father said " Okay, who is Nephi?" I was shocked! Stunned! Excited! (Alma 22:8) So I explained who Nephi was; A Prophet of God called to guide His people to the Promised Land. He then asked, "So what about Mormon, or Moroni, who were they?" I really can not write how excited I was to answer these questions!!! He asked about Ether and Jared as well. Then we looked at the pictures that come in the front pages of the Book of Mormon. We started with the picture of Christ in the Americas appearing to the people after his acension from Jerusalem. He was so interested that Christ would come to all his people. We asked about who Samuel the Lamanite Prophet was and why he was standing on a wall. He asked about Moroni and the Plates made by Mormon. He even asked about Joseph Smith and what his calling was. What an incredible experience to see others WANTING, DESIRING to learn. After he said, " Nephi sounds like a very interesting story. I want to read about his boat. This week I will read the first Book of Nephi and next saturday we will have something to talk about."
It was a great week to teach for me. My portuguese is better. I understand basically 95% of everything. My face is healed and has been great. We have played soccer 2 mondays in a row and I am getting way better. I scored again today which rocked. We had a ton of local brazilians play with us and I was playing forward with a big tall guy. He played the ball down to the keeper box, where he pulled the goalie and 2 others out at him, passed to me and I smashed it in!!!!! But we lost anyways. HAHA. I love soccer. Its so much fun. Today we played in 93 degrees, rainforest weather. SWEET.
ALSO... Congrats AARON DAVIS!!!!! Australia is gonna be awesome!!! Happy birthday to Brandyn Burbank!!
Oi. Eu Convido vocês a aprender como falar em português.
Eu Amo Vocês,
Elder Asa Laws
PS - A warning to all those that I love...
This week I was able to veiw some very sad situations that are all based around one great evil: Drinking.
This week we found that one of our investigators had returned to drinking in the past few weeks and was wasting away his life. He was mad, fighting with his wife, and wanting to wreck his whole life because he does not think straight anymore. He says is not an alcoholic. He only drinks with his friends but yet his family is falling apart. We tried to discuss how a husband and wife are best friends and need to work these problems out with prayer, communication and love. His wife was willing and said he was her best friend. He said it depended on the day and what she was saying whether or not they were friends. I was horrified. He drinks just to have fun and hang out with his other friends was ruining all that he had. We also have a former investigator that came to us for help with his drinking. He was an alcoholic. He ran away from his problems with drinking. His wife wants to leave him and she is beaten sometimes.
Please, anyone I know. ANYONE. If you drink for any reason. Only for dinners, parties, you only drink with your college buddies, any reason, STOP. I beg you to stop flirting with such a terrible evil that I have seen destroy so much here in Brazil. I see men drunk every day with nothing else left in their lives. I hear fights in houses with drunk husbands and wives. I see children who drink to hide from their problems at home. It is so very sad to see. And yes, this message applies to all of you who drink, even just a little bit or only once in a while. By small steps are we pulled down.
I love you all and want nothing bad to happen to any of you.
This week we found that one of our investigators had returned to drinking in the past few weeks and was wasting away his life. He was mad, fighting with his wife, and wanting to wreck his whole life because he does not think straight anymore. He says is not an alcoholic. He only drinks with his friends but yet his family is falling apart. We tried to discuss how a husband and wife are best friends and need to work these problems out with prayer, communication and love. His wife was willing and said he was her best friend. He said it depended on the day and what she was saying whether or not they were friends. I was horrified. He drinks just to have fun and hang out with his other friends was ruining all that he had. We also have a former investigator that came to us for help with his drinking. He was an alcoholic. He ran away from his problems with drinking. His wife wants to leave him and she is beaten sometimes.
Please, anyone I know. ANYONE. If you drink for any reason. Only for dinners, parties, you only drink with your college buddies, any reason, STOP. I beg you to stop flirting with such a terrible evil that I have seen destroy so much here in Brazil. I see men drunk every day with nothing else left in their lives. I hear fights in houses with drunk husbands and wives. I see children who drink to hide from their problems at home. It is so very sad to see. And yes, this message applies to all of you who drink, even just a little bit or only once in a while. By small steps are we pulled down.
I love you all and want nothing bad to happen to any of you.
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