Uma igreja da família (A family church)

Oi família!!!

We´ve been receiving rain this week again.  It´s really weird because Ceará is known as one of the drier states in Brasil, so it´s super weird to have consistent rain.  Because it never rains here most of the roads aren´t really prepared for it and they end up turning into mini rivers.  But it´s been fun.  On the bright side, I arrived to church yesterday with shoes completely clean because it started raining on the way there and my shoes got soaked.  But, they looked like they were polished, so it made the experience a little more exciting.  The Lord loves me so much.

We´ve been facing some difficulties in the work this week.  We had 17 confirmed that they would come to church yesterday, and we ended up with only two.  But we´re still staying positive.  We´re talking with everyone we can and inviting everyone to church.  We headed out to work yesterday after lunch and the first person we talked to accepted the invitation to come to church!  We walked with him to his house and we began talking to him and he said, "brothers, (almost everyone calls us brothers when they first meet us), I´m a little confused.  Why is it that there are so many churches today?  Isn´t there only one Jesus?"  So, we explained the Restoration.  He really enjoyed the lesson and said that he´ll come to church this next week and keep learning with us.  It was awesome.

But the real cool expierence of the week was one we had way out in Tabapuá. We were out working and decided to visit a less-active member of the ward, Irmão Mendonça.  When we got there, we met his daughter, Ohana.  Her family was baptized when Irmã Mendonça was pregnant with her.  Because he family fell away when she was 6 years-old, she was never baptized.  We began talking with her about the church and the importance it places on the family.  She talked about how much she wants to be able to raise her family in a good loving atmosphere, specifically one that focuses so much on the family, for that reason, she wanted to raise her family in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  As we taught about the importance of the family and how our families can be together forever, I felt so strongly that what we taught was true.  I began to understand better how the gospel and the church were placed on the earthto bless our families.  What was more important was the appreciation that I felt in my heart for having had the oportunity to be born in the new and everlasting covenant to faithful parents who placed gopsel learning and principles first.  I began to review in my mind all of the broken homes I have visited as a missionary and I then realized how blessed I was to see how my home isn´t that way.  So, shout-out to mom and dad, thank you guys for giving me the best that the Lord has to offer.  But the lesson was great and we all really felt the Spirit testify that the Lord loves the family.  I am so grateful for mine.

Até o próximo!  Amo vocês!

Élder Evans