Happy Monday!!

This week was wonderful. It started out with Zone Conference, where I rode the bus a lot, learned a lot, and also got more peanut butter from the states. During the week we taught a lot and were able to participate in some fun family nights! And then the end of the week came, and became a weekend that I will never forget.

I guess I want to talk a little bit about each person who was baptized this week. Daiana is an amazing person. Her children are already baptized and she has been attending church for over 2 years. She has a really strong testimony and it was an honor to help her become worthy for baptism! The ward was very moved on Saturday by her because practically everyone there already knows her well. I was able to confirm her on Sunday and it was an amazing experience for me!

Rangel was also baptized! Teaching and getting to know him was really cool for me. Some of his hobbies are martial arts and collecting soda bottles. One thing that really sticks out to me is that even though he has a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon, he reads each day and tells us of how much of a blessing it is for him. He is also a great example for his family. His mom is also investigating the church and we are helping her quit smoking.

Wellington and Bruna are very special to me. I truly felt like an instrument in the hands of the Lord as we helped them become converted to the gospel. The first day I conversed with Wellington was after an english class a few weeks ago. We were on an exchange so I had to respond to his many doubts and questions. We talked for almost 2 hours while I waited at the church for Elder Otávio to return. When he went home to Bruna, he shared what I had taught him about life after death. Little did he know that while he was at the english class, she was listening to a gospel radio about life after death and was worrying about the topic. They say that that night was when they received their answer from God about the church.

From that point on it has been amazing to watch them embrace the gospel! They are bringing us to their family members and helping us in the missionary work! The're a young couple that used to fight a lot, but now there's a lot more respect and love between them.

Thankfully a lot of family members of the converts were able to make it to the baptism meeting too! Holy cow we had a turnout. We had an activity where we passed "meet the mormons" before the baptisms, and it worked out really well. The actual meeting was super spiritual. 

Transfers were yesterday, but everything is staying the same for us! I'm excited to continue working here with Elder Otávio. I'm learning more than I thought was possible and loving serving the Lord!!

Elder Searle

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