Week of the Selfy

This week was funny. As you may have guessed, more rain. This week, I studied and learned a lot about faith. Because I finished the Book of Mormon of late, I decided to start studying the New Testament more. It’s always good to study the New Testament here in Brazil because the majority of people know their Bible scriptures. So you always got to provide evidence. Haha. For example, I had a nice Bible bash with a Jehovah’s Witness discussing whether Jesus was crucified on the cross or on the wood (with his hands above him). Eventually, it got heated so I just bore my testimony and told him that the answer to the question wouldn’t help us achieve salvation. It’s more important to recognize His atoning sacrifice and apply his sacrifice to become perfected in Him. These debates happen on the daily so you always got to watch out for the people who are just looking to argue. Anyways, in my New Testament studies, I was trying to learn about and comprehend faith. I loved reading chapter 10 of Romans. This chapter gives great insight into salvation, righteousness, and faith. As missionaries, we need to desire, pray and help others be righteous and develop faith. We also have to be examples of these principles as well. Verses 8 and 9 show us what is faith in Christ. We learn that faith in our Christ is a surety that Christ has risen from the dead, and through his sacrifice and resurrection, we have the surety that we will be saved as well. As I pondered these verses, I could reflect on how I personally felt about my own faith. Am I bold or am I ashamed in my knowledge of Christ? (verse 11) In verse 14, we learn that we need preachers and missionaries to help everyone develop faith in Christ. Verse 15 lets us know that we are called of God to preach and announce to the world of Christ’s saving grace. We are also shown the great blessings of missionary work and how God delights in those who share this gospel. Overall, Romans Chapter 10 helped me see the importance of an unbreakable, bold faith in Christ and using this faith to bless others through sharing the gospel. I encourage you all to share this gospel with anyone, stranger, family and friends. And through sharing the gospel, I know your faith in Christ will always be strengthened. At times it’s scary, or we don’t want to break out of our comfort zone, but through all the rejection and success I have seen on the mish, there is nothing to lose. It really is our job as members of the church to bring the good news of this gospel to every corner of the earth. So get out there and share, and blessings will be seen in your life and others.

My week was funny as I said in the start. We got the chance to discontinue a lot of the people we are teaching. Please pray for Christian and Raphael/Adriano, and that we can find new investigators prepared to be baptized. Thanks for all the love, support and prayers.

Dave