Well I have officially made
it to my mission. I got to Rio Grande Do Sol on last Tuesday. Let me tell
you... I´m not missin the mtc one bit haha. I love the field. The only thing
that I miss from the ctm are the people. My district, the other Americans, and
the Brazilians. Other than that, there is nothing to miss. When we landed in
Porto Alegre, we met the president, who is super chill and hilarious, and his
wife and then went straight to lunch at this amazing buffet restaurant. We then
took a nice nap, went to the president’s house for orientation and dinner, and
then spent the night in a hotel. The next day we got our trainer and our area.
My trainer is Elder Muller. Some things to know about this guy is he is
incredibly patient with my inability to speak the language, he is a great
teacher, he is obsessed with Italy, and he loves to eat haha. One day he wants
to be a chef in Italy. He is super funny and is helping me learn very quickly.
I´m currently serving in Erechim, a city in the boonies of our mission. To get
to this small city, we had to take a 7 hour bus ride through rio grande do sol
to very north part of the state. Elder Muller and | are living with two other
missionaries: Elder Pedreza from Argentina, and Elder Perreira from Natal. They
are both awesome!!!! Super funny and chillax. Plus they help me learn a ton in
the language and I’m helping them learn English. Us four missionaries cover the
entire city. The last couple days we have been walking anywhere from 30 minutes
to an hour to get to members houses for lunch. Let me tell ya... They feed you
sooooo much. It’s all super good food. We eat so much that we skip dinner.
After lunch, we spend the rest of the day proselyting. It is a lot of work.
Tons of walking, talking, and teaching. It is extremely frustrating not being
able to talk a ton with the people. The ctm for sure babies us Americans. It is
completely different experience out here. But despite my frustration, I’m
learning fast and have witnessed some pretty amazing miracles.
Last Saturday, I was
having a rough day. I couldn’t say what I wanted to say, and I was getting down
on myself. Elder Muller randomly was like we need to pray. So we did and he
told me to choose a house. So I walked for a couple minutes and picked a house.
I clapped and a family came out of the house and said we could teach them. We
taught them the restoration. Man was the spirit strong. All four of them committed
to reading the BOM, praying, and if they received an answer baptism. It was an
amazing experience.
Another miracle this week happened on Sunday. We were on
splits, and I was with Elder Pedreza. After eating at a member’s house, we met
with an investigator who said he had a dream. He described the dream in which
he saw a pillar of light and in that pillar of light there were two books. He
recognized one as the bible, but didn’t recognize the other (bom). He then
heard a voice telling him that these books were true. Sounds a lot like joseph
smith if ya ask me. So we taught him the restoration and he said he desired
with all his heart to be baptized. These miracles get me through the day. This
work isn´t easy, but because of the change of heart and glimmer in the eyes
these people have. I know that | need to give it my all every day. I love you
all and thank you for all your prayers. I know this church is true and that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
Love,
Elder Bodine
No comments:
Post a Comment