Chasing Down Investigators

Well, I don´t have too much time but I’ll try to tell you guys everything that happened this week.

First off we have Fabrissa. We met her two weeks ago knocking doors and she accepted our visits. So when we went back to visit her, her sister had an emergency and she had to go help. Then we went to go visit her again and her tooth broke so she had to go to the dentist. But finally, deu certo :) So we got to visit her this week and it was so good! She told us right in the first visit that she wants help to quit smoking so we have been setting goals with her and she has been smoking less. She accepted to be baptized as well on the 19th of December! So we are super excited about her! When we taught her the first lesson the spirit was super strong and she new right away that is was all true! And she was so excited to receive a Book of Mormon!

Then we have Raianne and her family. So here is everyone, Edvania the mom, Raianne 18, Fabianna 16, Natalia 12, I think, and Anderson the cousin. So this week we stopped by a few times and we were able to teach all of them. Obviously they weren’t all together every visit but we have been able to help them all progress which was really good! Sometimes its a little difficult to teach them because we show up and its different people every time and some of the family members have heard more messages then others. But they are all reading the Book of Mormon! Anderson we met this week. He heard about our visits and wanted to participate so one morning when we went to go visit Raianne she went and woke him up and he participated so that was cool! And..... they finally went to church!!!!!! We were super happy about that and they loved it!!!!! But it may take them awhile to get baptized because they have a few commandments that they need to keep before.

One day as we were walking down the street, after all of our appointments fell through, we saw a man sweeping and we thought lets make a contact with him. But then he went inside and started to close his garage door and I thought oh crap...... but then he stopped half way. So we ran and talked to him. And it was so perfect! He asked us a bunch of questions, questions that hardly nobody asks, but questions that every missionary wants to hear! So we talked to him a bit then marked to visit him the next day. So we went back the next day and he wasn’t there. So we tried to call him, and out of nowhere he came running down the street, ha. He was caught up at his work and couldn’t leave to meet with us so he ran really quick so that we wouldn’t think that he forgot. So we set up to meet with him again this week. But, I’ll tell ya, he was definitely prepared by the Lord. So I’m super excited about this week!!!

Yesterday in church we FINALLY had some luck! We had 7 investigators in church!!!! We finally got to see the fruits of our work! And yesterday we broke the record here in Paracatú of the number of people. Normally we have like 28 but yesterday we had 40!!! And most of the people were investigators! So we are extremely happy about that! Now we just need to keep up with them so they continue to progress!!

Lately I have had the chance to teach the Plan of Salvation a lot and I have loved it! Never before have I realized how important it is to know the plan that the Lord has made for us. I always think of the movie Alice in Wonderland when she comes to a fork in the road and the cat appears to her. And she asks which path she should take. The cat replies saying that it depends on where she wanted to go, and she didn’t know. So the cat tells her that any path will do. This is very similar to our lives. In many moments we come to a fork in the road and we aren’t sure with way to take. But knowing our final destination (the Celestial kingdom) we are able to figure out which path will be better and take us to there. This path is Jesus Christ. If we follow him everyday and live his teachings, we will reach our destination. But only through him it is possible. Thus, we must always be searching for him, always reading the scriptures to know what we must do to stay on the path, praying for the strength and protection of the Lord to stay on the path, and being worthy to have the spirit with us to help us stay on the path. And by doing this, we will reach the gates of heaven and there we will meet our Heavenly Father with his arms out wide to take us in. I’m so eternally grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father. He knows me personally and loves me. He loves each and every one of us. He wants us back, but he gave us our agency to choose. So I challenge each of you this week to do a self-evaluation to see where you are. Where on the path you are at and what you can do to continue? If you are not on the path, I invite you to return. He will help you make it back. Seek our Savior Jesus Christ. He will take your hand and guide you through.

I love this gospel. I love my mission. I love my Savior.

Have a Fabulous week!!

Com Amor,
Sister Steadman

Over the Hill.....

Well, I´m not really sure where to begin with this week. But it was a good week that’s for sure! Our journey here in Paracatú started out really well and so far I´m loving every bit of it! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures this week, but I´ll be better this next week :) But, here in Paracatú just about everywhere you look, there is a hill. And they aren’t just little hills here, they are big steep slopes. So by the end of our time here, we will probably have the legs of an athlete, ha! But seriously, they are sooooo big! We ask everyone where certain things are located and they always say oh over that on hill.....  it’s getting better :)

But Paracatú is a really big town! It’s got the small town feel and doesn’t really have any big towns close by, but it’s freakin huge!! So it has been a bit of a challenge working our way around here, but so far we have managed :)

So we arrived here on Wednesday with our President. He was nice enough to give us a ride :) And the Elders showed us where some of the converts lived, and then we were on our own :) So just like opening any other area, we started knocking doors and making contacts. And the people here are super open! Which is very helpful! And the members here are so willing to help as well! So this week we were able to find a few people to teach :)

Our first investigator here was Gloria :) It was just a simple contact in the street that we made. But so far we have only taught her the first lesson and about the BOM. She wasn’t in church yesterday because she already had some plans, but we are hoping for next week!

Also yesterday we visited a woman named Marcia. And our lesson with her was really good! She told us that a couple of years ago she realized that her church that she was attending wasn’t right. So she went out to search for the truth. She found another church and chose to stay there. But this church sent through some changes and now she isn’t liking her current church. She feels like it isn’t true. So we taught her the first lesson and she sat there in her thoughts. And she thought that it was very interesting that we found her the other day and that we felt like we needed to share this message with her. I think it was kind of like a wake up call to her, but she really liked it. So we will be visiting her again this week so see how she feels and to continue teaching her.

But that’s about it for this week. This next week will be better and I´m sure that I will have more stories :) So far our group here has only about 35 people going to church every Sunday, but that will be changing soon :)

But I hope you all have a great week! Remember to always read the scriptures and say your prayers! And know that Heavenly Father loves you!

Com Amor,
Sister Steadman

McKell and Other Sister Missionaires