Oi familia!
So, it was awesome to talk to y´all last week.
(My english might be lazy when I get home because we have simpler ways of
saying things in Portuguese) It was kind of cool that it was actually
hard for me to speak in English. Frustrating, yes, but cool. I just
never speak in English here so doing so is rather uncommon for me. But, I
hope you all learned a few new words and had a lovely time. Glad to hear
you´re all doing well and maybe we can actually Skype on Mother´s day.
I´m learning that we have ways of doing things here that aren´t explicetly
stated, like using the computer in the chapel. But, live and learn.
So, my experience for the week happened yesterday.
Actually, the Lord saw fit to teach me a number of things this week and I feel
I´ve changed imensely over the course of this past week whether by study,
faith, or the refiner´s fire, I´ve grown so much this week. But,
yesterday morning as I was eating my pão e maçã (bread and apple though it´s
not quite pronounced how it´s spelled) for breakfast I was reading a talk by
Elder Bednar of the Twelve. In this talk he explained that some of our
most powerful and best prayers are prayers of gratitute where we ask for little
to nothing. So, I got on my knees and thanked the Lord sincerely for the
grand number of blessings I had recieved. It made me realize just how
blessed I am and how the Lord is truly always looking out for us with His
tender mercies. However as I did so, The Spirit descended upon me like
I´ve never recieved it before. It was truly a powerful experience.
But, this isn´t all. The talk goes on to mention how prayer shouldn´t be
viewed as a series of events throughout the day, but a continual process.
Thus, our morning prayers lead to our daily prayers which lead to our nightly
prayers which prepare us for our prayers the next morning. So, I
considered this prayer as a process and began such yesterday. Combined
with the Spirit I mentioned earlier, the day was quite profound. During
church, our teacher for Gospel Principles was absent so I had to teach the
lesson. What happened? Inspiration and the gift of tongues. I
thought "hmm, Gospel of Jesus Christ today" and I was able to teach
the whole lesson. I didn´t have to use my dictionary, look to my
companion, or pause for long periods of time. It was amazing that I could
speak the thoughts and intents of my heart and mind without difficulty.
Truly, the Lord was with me. As we continued through the day, I felt
impressed to go to a specific street in our area and bater portas (tract)
because the Lord had prepared someone. We went and sure enough, we met a
man who is displeased with his church and was very impressed with our building
when he passed by. He lives a minute away by walking and is seeking to
find more truth. Golden contact. As we continued through the day,
the Spirit was strong and urged me to find, speak, and prepare those of God´s
children to one day enter His kingdom once again. So, I want to invite
you all to try this this week. Offer a prayer of heartfelt gratitude, and
then consider your prayers as a process and watch for the miracles that ouccur.
Truly, this is the Lord´s restored church on the earth once
again. Prayer is real, and I we can talk with God, our Heavenly Father at
any time or place. Joseph Smith knew this and he applied this principle
and through him the church was restored. We all can recieve the bounteous
blessings of heaven as we pray with real desire and intent.
Vós amo!
Elder Evans
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