This week was incredible! A few things happened that really strengthened my testimony of God´s timing in our lives and His love for us. I know that he is aware of us and always watching over us. I know he has a plan for each individual, no matter who they are or where they´ve been. I would like to share how I came to understand this principle during this week.
On Monday I received the best news ever. Here is the story. A little over a month ago we received a reference from sister missionaries serving in the Salt Lake City Temple Square mission. They gave us a name and an address. The guy´s name is Angelo Reale. We were super happy, because references from Salt Lake are usually really good. We were disappointed when we arrived at the given address (Rua Ilhéus, #214, Rio Vermelho, Salvador) and found an office building with a bar on the side. We talked with the people there and no one knew an Angelo, so I left my number with the people at the bar and told them to give it to Angelo if he ever shows up. Over the course of a few weeks, we went back to the address to see if we could find him by chance. We also got back in contact with the Sisters and they got in contact with Angelo to confirm the address. They were sure that it was the correct address, so we just didn´t go back because we had tried multiple times without any luck in finding Angelo. Some weeks passed by without any notice and we had given up on trying to contact that reference. Here comes the cool part. Out of nowhere I received an email on Monday from Angelo saying that we are welcome to pass by on Wednesday at 4:00 pm. He told us he was sick the last few weeks so that´s why he wasn´t there at that address that was given to us. I was super happy that he got in contact with me and marked a day for us to visit him! After all our office work, we left to work in our area. We brought Diana and Joelma (two members) to Clara and Cailane´s house. We were able to discuss with them about their progress and what they need to do in order to gain the desire to be baptized. Diana and Joelma bore their powerful testimonies about their conversions, and everyone felt the spirit. We plan to continue teaching Clara and Cailane to see if they will keep the commitments we leave with them. We had a three week plan set for them in order for them to gain a testimony and more desire to be baptized, but they didn´t do the readings we left with them or go to church. After that lesson, we ate dinner with Diana at a restaurant in Rio Vermelho.
Tuesday was a normal day of work in the office and in our area we talked to a young man named Cristiano who has lots of friends who are members of the church. It turned out to be his 16 birthday as well. He wouldn´t have any problem being baptized if it weren´t for his mom, who is from a different church and a little against ours. We are trying to mark a day to teach her and see if it would be possible to baptize her together with her son. Imagine that! Walking home that night we saw a man come up from off the beach from fishing. He had a HUGE fish in his hand. He crossed the road and was walking in front of us. I got closer behind him to take a picture. Eventually we walked by his side and started a conversation with him. We talked about fishing and he told us the fish he caught was 7 kilos, that´s about 15 pounds! I asked him if I could pick it up and he told he my hand would stink and the spiny tail would hurt, but i still picked it up, and MAN! it really was 15 pounds! My hand was almost cut and it stunk the rest of the night like fish, but at least I got a cool picture of it will my cellphone!
Wednesday was the day we met Angelo Reale in person. We arrived at the address Rua Ilhéus #214 and sure enough he was there! He warmly greeted us and we entered into his office. We found out that this was his commercial address where he works. He introduced himself and immediately began to tell us the whole story about how he came to know the church. He was born and raised in Salvador, Bahia and currently is 25 years old. He has studied multiple religions from all parts of the world, but never has been baptized in any church. He began traveling to pursue a few things i won´t mention right now. This guy has been to Berlim, Germany, Finland, and other places in Europe. He was in a country in Europe called Estonia when he met a group of members and a few Elders. He was really interested and wanted a Book of Mormon. They went to a library there in Estonia and were able to find a Book of Mormon in PORTUGUESE! They gave it to him as a present. He told us a lot of things about his life that I found very interesting, but i don´t find it appropriate to write it at this moment. I could see how God was working in his life and preparing him for this moment that we were having with him, discussing about his life and the gospel. He had so many questions that were completely related to the missionary lessons that we teach. In the end we ended up teaching him the plan of salvation. He loved it and went right on asking questions that led us the subjects related to the Restoration. I ended up teaching him the whole lesson of the Restoration in English because he speaks English and told me it´s okay if I speak in English with him. I thought, "sweet! I guess i will see how bad my english has gotten " It was really special teaching Angelo. We were there for about 2 hours. We had to go so we closed the discussion and marked to visit him again on Friday.
Thurday we visited Romilda and had dinner there as well. We tried to find Cristiano to teach him, but he wasn´t home.
Friday came quickly and it turned out to be a really busy. We had to go to the city downtown to find a house owner to pay her. Then I scheduled 3 visits in the Federal Police for us to renew some Elder´s VISAS for the following weeks. At 5:00 pm we headed over to visit with Angelo. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and talked about the importance of having the Gift of the Holy Ghost and what a person needs in order to receive it. The lesson went so well and we discused a lot. Skipping a lot of detail, he accepted the goal of having his baptism on December 23rd! He had already begun quitting smoking before we initially found him, so he is committed to quitting! Angelo is so awesome! I told him that to prepare for the 23rd we need to make some goals. Without asking him to do anything, he whipped out his phone and pulled up his Google calendar. He opened a new checklist and said, "okay, what do i need to do to prepare? Oh, i know, i need to quit smoking." Then he typed on his phone, "stop smoking" and asked us what else he needed to do. I was a little surprised on how sincere he was. I explained to him the importance of going to church, and he immediately began to change his schedule for Sunday to fit in going to church, despite all his meetings and international work-related phone calls. I was super happy to see how proactive he was about everything and how interested he is. It was really the first time that i´ve taught someone as responsible as he is. He really has a vision for himself and his spirituality
For P-Day on Saturday, we went to the Farol da Barra (lighthouse) and paid R$15 to have full access to the area. We entered the fort and saw all the museums and we ascended to the top of the lighthouse to see the awesome view! It was a blast. I took so many pictures that it will be impossible to share them all with you. It´s a place that you have to visit to see it all and really enjoy it. I also took some videos to make a short film that shows our P-Days. It should turn out pretty cool.
In general my week went well. We were really happy to have the privilege of contacting Angelo and teaching him. He truly has been prepared by God in His timing. I think that Angelo is realizing this too. He is a sincere man who talks very openly with us. He doesn´t hide anything and trusts us as he would a good friend. I know that God is preparing people to receive the restored gospel, and many are already prepared. We only need to do our part in searching for them. I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ restored on the Earth. It is a living church that is guided by modern revelation. I am grateful for our current prophet as well as the past prophets who have guided us in the past. I love my family and am very grateful for my parents. I am proud of my dad for the faith and courage he has had during this challenging time in his life. I notice how we are strengthened when we rely on Christ´s example. He refines us and shapes us to become better people. I understand that he allows that we go through difficult times so we may learn and receive a stronger testimony of His love and and become a firm witness of his truthfulness. This is my testimony that I would like to share this week,
Love,
Elder Hilton
Up top in the Farol da Barra looking at the awesome view and walking back.
I got the Christmas decorations up! I finally used some decorations that i didn´t get to use last year that my mom sent me, hahaha. I spent so much time setting up that felt christmas tree on the wall. I felt so good when it was all together in the end, but disappointed the next morning when i walked in the office and found it had fallen down and fell apart.
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