Week 54: Happy São João!

   President came into the office Friday morning and asked us if we have lunch marked for today.  We told him we dont have lunch. He asked if lunch fell through and we told him that we just really didnt have lunch marked with anyone. Then he happily said, ´´then you´re eatin´ lunch with me today! We´re going to the Pelourinho to a restaurant that I like and also we will see all the cool Saõ João decorations. So at lunch time he drove us to the Pelourinho and we ate at a nice restaurant. After we ate, we descended and he told us that he accidently took us to a different restaurant than he wanted and he spend triple the amount of money that he wanted to. Then he just laughed and said all is well. We took píctures around the Pelourinho and were able to be ´´tourists´´  for a few minutes.

Here is a little info. about São João and why they do this holiday here in Brazil.  
São João is a holiday here that practically lasts the last 2 weeks of June even though the actual date of the holiday is the 23rd (night) and the 24th (all day).

   ´´The Birth of John the Baptist (or St. John's Day or Precursor's Birth) is a Christian feast celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foresaw the advent of the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ and baptized him. This feast is widely celebrated in the Christian world on June 24 and is one of the June festivities. ´´
   ´´ According to Catholic tradition, the bonfires burned in the mountains of Judea to announce the birth of John on June 24. ... Before the evangelization of Europe in the Middle Ages, the fires were used in pagan rituals, which celebrated the arrival of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.´´

    So these last 2 weeks here there has been lots of partying in the roads with random fires going in whatever place they feel like starting a fire. I´ve seen little burning piles of wood and trash and even large bonfires. President Bangerter told us that this holiday is centered in families. Families spend time together and make various food made of corn. They also eat lots of cooked peanuts and shoots of lots of fireworks/ bombs. Here they are pretty much just bombs. they aren´t the cool colorful fireworks like we see on the 4th of July. 
Here is a little info. about São João and why they do this holiday here in Brazil.  
São João is a holiday here that practically lasts the last 2 weeks of June even though the actual date of the holiday is the 23rd (night) and the 24th (all day).

We have been teaching a 22 year old man named Diego. He lives with his wife, who is a less-active member. They have a one-year old son named Diogo.  I still don´t have a picture with them, but soon i will. Diego has been to church twice with his wife. He is progressing a lot. The first time we taught him we taught the Restoration and the Book of Mormon and invited him to read 3rd Nephi Chapter 11 that talks about baptism. The next appointment we asked him if he read the chapter and he told us he read chapter 11, 12, 13, 14 and the first chapter of 1st Nephi. We were blown away. Then we asked him what he learned and he gave very good detailed answers! We are super happy and excited for him! He just needs to get married legally so he can get baptized. 
   Diego is a huge fan of the Bahia soccer team here and said that when a game isn't on Sunday he will take us there. Our last appointment with us his wife made meat pastels for us. We ate them after the lesson, then he called delivery pizza and gave us pizza and pop to take home! What a nice guy! 

   I wanted to share an experience that happened this week concerning the importance of families and our individual ´´life stories´´.  This week I had the feeling that i should ask my Grandpa Tim about his conversion story. The idea just came into my head so i sent him a quick email asking him about it. Then he sent his story typed up to me. I printed out the story and stuck it in my Book of Mormon. During that day, I read it while walking up and down stairs and hills in the favella. I found it very interesting and enjoyable to read. Later that night, when we taught Diego, I felt impressed to share a little about Grandpa Tim´s conversion story. I started then remembered that I had the story in my Book of Mormon. So I pulled it out and we started to read it together ( I translated).  We only read a little bit of it and Diego was actually very interested so I told him that i will translate it to Português so he can read it better. After we left I realized that Grandpa Tim´s story could help him a lot, because Diego and younger Grandpa Tim are in similar situations. Diego is living with his wife who is a member and they have one kid. He is investigating the church and is learning a lot. The only difference is that Diego treats the missionaries real well (with pizza, and other food). Grandpa Tim seemed to be a bit tougher. hahaha. 

   I am grateful for my family´s example to me. It is them that motivates me to serve a mission. I am grateful that my Grandpa decided to join the true church of Jesus Christ. Even though he delayed, he was baptized and now has served faithfully in the church and has been very blessed. It is the same for each one of us that is baptized. God will bless us for keeping his commandments and following his son´s example. I am grateful to have the privilege to be a member of Christ´s church. It is an honor to be a priesthood holder and to act in His name. I hope that I can do all I can to persevere and be worthy of His name. I love the Savior and know that he will return one day to reign over this world. I know that he sent us in families to prepare to meet him and live with him again. I am thankful for God´s plan for each one of us. 

Have a great week


-Elder Hilton