My last email! :0

This morning I had my final interview with President Fernandes. It was a super great experience and I think I finally realized that my mission is coming to an end. Today we will do a family night with some of my converts and it should be great! Then tomorrow I will go through self-sufficiency class with the other missionaries that are going home and then on Wednesday I fly out! Crazy!!

This week was absolutely amazing. I really could not have created a better week to end my mission. We had two amazing exchanges and lots of people are progressing here. Yesterday was the best part of the week. It was Stake Conference and I felt the Spirit strongly during the meeting. Uilquer was sustained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and right after the conference he asked me to perform the ordinance. It was the first time that I have ever conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood to someone and it was a very special moment. Uilqer and his wife Daniele have progressed so well since their baptism.

The sensation of going home is rather different than any other. I am so used to missionary life that it's going to be very strange for the first bit at home. I will surely miss the work and the amazing people here. I am forever grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the blessing and privilege of serving a full-time mission. I know that He loves me and blesses me according to my obedience. I know that my Redeemer lives and that he provides the means for me to receive a fulness of joy.

Thank you for the support and prayers! I love you.

Elder Searle

116982

It's my last week :0

My mission is going by so quickly. This past week we did three exchanges with some amazing missionaries. I got to be companions with E. Dedeco for a day again!! It was great. After I trained him he got transferred to be the executive secretary and has been in the same area for almost a year! I love working with him.

This week we will do two more exchanges and have the transfer meeting. I am excited to see who will take my place as the next assistant! And then we will have Stake Conference here! Two of the men I baptized, Uilquer and Genivaldo, will recieve the Melchezidek Priesthood at the Sunday session!! I am super duper excited.

I feel imensly grateful for all the experiences gained and lessons learned on my mission. Being a missionary is the hardest and most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. There aren't words to explain the joy and love that I feel each day. I love missionary work and I know that there is no greater work than this. I thank the Lord for the privilege it is to represent Him.

I love you guys! Have a great week.

Elder Searle

125186

This week was amazing! Fernanda and Diogo were baptized and it was an amazing experience! They were a referal from a bishop in another ward of our stake. It was cool to teach them because we were able to teach with that bishop, our bishop, and some members of the stake presidency during the process.

Fernanda is a wedding dress maker and designer. She attends clients in her home and it was really interesting when she showed us the process. Diogo is her son, who is 9 years old. He is probably the smartest 9-year-old I have ever met. He retains knowledge really easily. He came to church yesterday with a white shirt and tie and told us that he wanted to be a missionary!

We also did two exchanges this week and for the first time I worked with a companion from Africa! He is from Cape Verde, which is a group of Islands between Africa and Brazil.

Uilquer and Genivaldo both passed the sacrament yesterday!! It was a really spiritual moment for me. They are great and progressing really well to receive the higher priesthood at the end of the month! :)

I love you guys!

Elder Searle

117252

Happy June!

This week was great. Two zone conferences, two exchanges and a lot of teaching. We were able to teach the rest of the missionary lessons to Fernanda and her son, Diogo. They are a true blessing.

Yesterday at church Genivaldo asked me to perform his priesthood ordination. I believe that it was the first time that I conferred the priesthood to someone. It was a wonderful experience. He and Uilquer will distribute the sacrament next Sunday! And they are already taking the classes to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood!

The zone conferences talked a lot about the Holy Ghost. I feel like my comprehension really grew in regard to this subject. I am grateful for my mission president and for him to have taught me so much about the gospel principles.

Have a wonderful week! I love you all.

Elder Searle

107260

Well, it was a wonderful week. Genivaldo was baptized and confirmed. He and Uilquer started the course for them to recieve the Melchezedik Priesthood and are super exctied to serve! And Uilquer is already serving as he was the one to baptize Genivaldo! ​I get so excited seeing them progress so well.

Genivaldo was truly prepared by the Lord. We met him the day of Uilquer and Daniele's baptism. He is Daniele's brother. He gladly accepted to come and see their confirmation the next day and since then he progressed super well. I don't think I have ever seen any hesitation to assume and keep commitments. He is learning a lot and is trying to help his family come to know the truth as well. His mother came to the baptism and that was great!

Last Sunday this lady came to church and no one knew who she was, including us! Turns out, a bishop from another ward had told her to visit the church and she did! Her name is Fernanda. Now she and her son (Diogo) are beiong taught by us and progressing really well. She even brought the snacks for Genivaldo's baptism and said the first prayer! The craziest thing is that on the same exact Sunday that she went to church for the first time, her boyfriend who lives in another state went as well! She recieved an answer to her prayers during this week and knows that the Book of Mormon is true. I'm super excited for them!!

We did some exchanges this week as well plus had a mission leadership council on Tuesday! I found out that day that it would be my last mission council because my visa is not able to be renewed, making it impossible for me to stay another transfer. I have mixed feelings, but I'm sure the Lord has it all planned out!

This week we will have a couple of Zone Conferences and exchanges! It should be great. I am really enjoying my time here in Paraíso with my new companion! We are getting along really well. I love you guys!

Elder Searle

107312

Hello everyone!

This week was a good one. Lots of good changes came to pass. My new companion is an awesome missionary named Elder Bellum! He is from Colorado and speaks portuguese better than any other american on the mission. It will be nice to have him here and to work with him.

Uilquer received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and he will baptize his brother-in-law this Saturday! Lots of miracles are happening here.

The transfers went smoothly. And the new missionaries all seem really excited! Almost all of them are converts to the church and a little older. They will be a great addition to our mission.

I am so grateful for my mission and all the little things that the Lord does for me each day. I know He lives and guides my life. I love the Lord.

Elder Searle

121115

Miracles!

This week was amazing. It may have been the best week of my mission thus far. I feel so grateful for everything that the Lord is doing for us here. It was the last week for my companion and we worked super hard to make it the best week ever.

Uilquer and Daniele were baptized! Their story is great. When we found them they were searching for a church to attend. Daniele was even praying to be baptized. And in these amazing circumstances the Lord led us to them! It has eben amazing to teach them and help them prepare for baptism. During the process, Daniele had a dream where she was being baptized at church! And they also recieved an answer to their prayers concerning the Book of Mormon. Their baptism was a really spiritual experience for me. Their cousin, who gave us their referal, realized the baptism. Daniele's brother came to church to see the confirmation. We taught him last night and he accepted to prepare for baptism as well!! I believe that much of Daniele's family has a great potential to join the church actually.

We did a couple of exchanges this week as well. They were great! And I know who my new companion will be! His name is Elder Bellum and he's from Colorado! I'm really excited to work with him. He's a great missionary and we will learn a lot together.

Tomorrow will be transfer madness. Here we go!

Love you guys! Have a great week.

Elder Searle

125561

Good morning,

Eunice was baptized yesterday! She is the lady that we found during an exchange a few weeks ago. She progressed so quickly. She's an art teacher at a middle-school and has a lot of cool life stories! She is halfway throught the Book of Mormon and loving the gospel.

We are teaching a really special married couple. Uilquer and Daniele. They have been coming to church for 3 weeks now and if all goes right they will be baptized on Saturday. They met our mission president yesterday and that was really cool! Daniele also recieved an answer to her prayers in the form of a dream this week. She dreampt that she was being baptized. I guess you can't really ask for a better answer than that!

This week is the last week for my companion. It will be sad to see him go. I'm also excited to have a fresh start and to train a new assistant.

Have a great week! Love you guys!

Elder Searle

127988

Happy May!

I have to be quicker today since we are pressed for time!

This week was E. Higashi's birthday, interviews with president, 2 zone conferences, an exchanges, and we gave the third hour training on Sunday as well. It was a jam-packed week and this week won't be much different. I love being a missionary and feeling the sweet spirit that comes from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

My camera is out of battery so I will send more pictures next week!

I love you guys and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Elder Searle

113150

This week was full of good stuff! We had a mission leadership council, did two exchanges, and had a miracle happen!

Actually two miracles happened. On Wednesday I found ou that I will extend my mission and stay another transfer! It really made me glad and gave me a new boost to work diligently. 

The other miracle happened on Thursday suring an exchange. We were trying to find someone to teach before lunch and out of nowhere this lady who was walking her dog calls us over and asks us what our work is. Turns out, she had been praying for a few weeks to be spiritually set free. We followed her to her apartment building and taught her the first lesson in the lobby. She was super receptive and said that it was an answer to her prayers. She was an answer to our prayers as well! Ufortunately she had to travel this last weekend, but she will go to church next Sunday. She wants to be baptized before she does a surgery on the 9th of May. Her name is Elenice.

I had the opportunity to speak at church yesterday, which was a good experience. I talked about faith, repentance, and baptism. I was tempted to invite all our investigators to be baptized during it.

This week we will have a few Zone Conferences. It should be a good time.

Love you guys!

Elder Searle

112324