Dear Family and Friends,
I don´t even know where to start this past week was extremely crazy busy and filled with just about every emotion possible. As I said in my last email Thursday afternoon, all ten elders and the two couple missionaries in my zone of Guarapuava were treated to a Thanksgiving feast at the apartment of Elder and Sister Davis in Vila Bela, a neighboring barrio here in Guarapuava. We ate turkey, which is a rare commodity here in Brasil, generally all they eat is beef and chicken here, but Elder Davis specially ordered turkey at a local buthchery and it was amazing. In addition to the turkey, we ate real mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, homemade stuffing, Brasilian jello with sweet and condensed milk and for dessert...apple pie, blackberry cobbbler and vanilla ice cream. To say the least it was one of the best meals I´ve had in Brasil yet. It was a great change from the white rice, black beans and potato salad that we eat practically every day here for lunch at the member´s houses. Because the food was so good I ended up eating too much and I could barely walk after because I was so full. From this experience I learned that I need to feast upon the words of Christ in the scriptures like I did with our Thanksgiving lunch so I´m filled with the Spirit and I know exactly what to say when my investigators of members have a question.
To cap off an already super busy week, Elder Riberio and I walked around our area like crazy to help our invesigators who had baptismal dates for this past weekend feel prepared and worthy to be baptized. Friday evening Maria Eduarda, 14, and Evelin, 13, were interviewd for baptism and passed. They both said they were ready for there baptism on Saturday and they even tried on the jumpsuit they would be baptized in. Then Saturday arrived and Elder Riberio and I arrived at the church at 8 am to fill up the baptismal font and heat up the water with the water heater. After waiting an hour for the font to fill up, we tried to turn on the water heater to circulate and heat up the water, only to realize that we had no idea how to turn ignite the propane in the heater. After about an hour and a half on the phone with the leaders of the branch here, we learned how to turn on the igniter. We then turned on the ignitier and water and the water began circulating, but the wtaer that was getting re circulated was still cold, so I told Elder Ribeiro that I thought something wasn´t right, but he said that it would take a while to warm up. When he said this I thought to myself, ``He´s from Brasil so he must know better.`` When we arrived three hours later to check on the water for the baptism of Vila Bela the water was still cold, that´s when I had the thought to check that the gas line was open. When I checked the gas line was closed, and when I opened up the liner the water heater turned on and that very second the water leaving the faucet was hot. To say the least, we both felt very unintelligent. As we passed by Maria Eduarda´s house that evening to give them a ride to their baptism they told us that they weren´t prepared and felt that they were being pressured. Well to make a long story short after a week of running all over the place to help them be baptized their baptism is postponed til further notice.
I learned that I need to be patient in all things and that our prayers will be answered in the Lord´s time and not ours.
I love you all, Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Hokanson
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Me, Elder López of Yakima/Spokane WA, Elder Grigg of LA, CA and Elder Brooksby of WAWe are eating apple pie and blackberry cobbler, made by Elder and Sister Davis of Kansas, a senior couple in our zone, Thanksgiving afternoon. |
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