Then everyone left for a meeting except elder bastos and i. we stayed and saw all the cool x-mas lights around the Dique de Tororó area. i also got to try out that Slack-Line sport thing. i didn't do super well haha. The stadium where the soccer team of Bahia was closed so we didn't get to go in like we wanted to.
Tuesday: We had a service project at Neia´s house. We basically hammer and chiseled down a wall in her kitchen and did some plumbing. Then we had lunch at Monica and Antony Neves´ house and that one funny high-energy recent convert was there and ate with us. Then we returned home, cleaned up, grabbed our backpacks and headed to the mission office. We loaded up our backpacks full of B.of Ms, pamplets, cards, Liahona magazines, etc. I received a package/envelope from my mom with some good talks from various Ensign magazines! We walked all the way home with heavy backpacks. I counted that as my exercise for the day. That evening we had a hard time finding people to teach.
Thursday: This morning Elder and Sister Briggs cam and ´´inspected´´ our house, just to see if it was functional and had all the necessities. They have only been in Brazil for 2 weeks! before they were living in Sandpoint Idaho! This morning we found out our water ran out. the company cut our line and so it was complicated.
Friday: Today we went to Lapa, Avenida 7 to find a hospital/eye specialist for Elder Bastos. We finally found one that accepted our mission health card after lots of searching and we marked an appointment for monday.
Sunday: So i found out that i will give my talk next week. the same talk that i was supposed to give my first week here in Salvador. After our normal church meetings we met with President Borges and reviewed our goals for our branch. at 5:00 pm was the x-mas choral presentation. on the way there there were two women that we walked past and one said Você parece de um modelo! (you look like a model). At first i didnt understand what she said so i just said obrigado (thank you) then i understood afterwards and laughed because she was at least 40 yrs old. The presentation was really good! Steven (president´s son) sang in the choir and dressed as joseph. it was funny. I couldnt eat any of the food, desserts, or drinks, because elder bastos and i were doing a fast.
Monday: we did our normal missionary work today because we switched our p-day to tuesday so we can go to the zoo and a museum that are closed on mondays.
I would like to share my testimony, My testimony on many things, as I´ve hit my 6 month mark, Christmas is arriving, and this year is coming to a close. It says in Proverbs 7:19, ´´For the good man is not at home, he is gone a long journey.´´ It says in Hebrews 13:1-2, ´´Let brotherly love continue…Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.´´ My mission was where I can frankly say I´ve learned of the Savior. The Savior Jesus Christ is the only perfect man to have walked planet Earth. He is the Atoner of this miserable race of humans whom now have hope for a better life through His Eternal Atonement. It took one garden, two , and three hours of unimaginable pain to create that Atonement. It was Jesus of Nazareth, of Bethlehem, of Judah and Israel to overcome the world. It was not only His legend He left, but His eternal Gospel which by the pillars of the universe cannot be changed or thus we are not and wasted. It was the God of Israel that had the ultimate power, wealth and riches and the ultimate manifester of love. Love who like energy has no beginning nor any end. It just is and always will be. I am so grateful that our God whom we are under is a God of love. The Eternal Father was such a God of love that He gave the only heir to His throne down into the woods and wolves den to be beaten, mocked, spit upon, and rejected by the very children He trusted before their mortal life. The Eternal Father who had the mightiest patience, temperance, and tolerance. Moreover, the mercy for us to send such a man as that of Jesus Christ. To give him freely the keys to create and fulfill all wonders, both imaginable and unimaginable according to the human standards of comprehension. I know They live. Their mission is a mission of love. They are the Gods of mercy and love and long for our return. They didn’t send us alone. I´m eternally grateful for the essential role and friendship of the Holy Ghost. He exists and is the One who can be the closest. He is the messenger on His diligent course. He is the bearer of the truthfulness of the Savior´s gospel which is the Father´s. The Holy Ghost is the one who tells you if this gospel is true. Only Him. Not your fellow man nor can your own mind tell you if it´s true. The truthfulness of anything is given only through the Comforter. But I can still say that I know this Gospel is true. That all the principles and teachings found in His Gospel and His church is true. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. Ask yourself what is truth and you will find it in that book. This book was written and carried through men of God: prophets and martyrs, as all things are asked of good men through sacrifice. And it is only through God are these heroes called. Let no man deceive you. Be comforted in the fact that when you hold the Book of Mormon in your hands, you are holding another bit of sacred information that was promised from the beginning. God does not abandon His people. We´re far too valuable and far too precious to Him…So don´t you abandon Him. I´m so grateful, especially during this Christmas season, for the knowledge I have of Christ´s life and the example He left for us. I want nothing more than to continue learning about Him, teachings others about Him, and as a result receive the blessings He promises. I know that He lives and he is the light of this world and through Him we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Christ is the true gift and its the greatest gift we can receive this Christmas holiday.
Have a great Christmas everyone!...and a happy new year!
With Love,
Elder Hilton
Elder Bastos and I
