Bringing the Gospel to Brazil: Glory in my Jesus

“And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born unto God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;” Mosiah 27:25. Over the last 22 months, I have seen a lot of change. Change in others, change in myself, and change in the way I look at those around me. Everyone of us is weak until we let Christ’s atoning sacrifice enter into our lives. With Christ, we can escape our carnal, prideful attitudes, and be born again entering into a state of righteousness. For me, a righteous life is a happy life. Let us all be righteous and inherit God’s eternal kingdom.

Let me tell you. This week was tiring. We did splits in 3 areas and traveled by bus, car, and train throughout the mission area. On Monday, we had an awesome meeting with Presdiente Campos. We could learn many precious teachings and feel a wonderful spirit with him. He invited my comp and I to be full of love, patience, charity, and the spirit during this transfer. He then gave us our weekly assignments. On Tuesday, we headed to Cachoerinha, which is a city next to Gravatai. We went on splits with Elder Lacerda, da Bahia, and Elder Guimaraes, de Fortaleza. I did splits with Elder Lacerda. He is hilarious. Before the mish, he was a zumba teacher. So our morning exercise for 2 days was zumba to EFY music. The division was amazing and super spiritual. In one day, we found 10 new investigators all of which firmly accepted baptism dates. Truly incredible. One of my favorite experiences was when we were in the grounds of the chapel and an 11 year old boy greeted us. He told us he was dying to get to know the church. We taught him and his parents, and they appear very interested. Many other awesome experiences occurred because we were following the spirit. On Thursday, we traveled to Novo Hamburgo and divided with Elder Naciemento, de Belem, e Elder Carvalho from Tocantins. I did splits with Elder Carvalho who is friendly. He literally is always smiling. We made it a goal to say at least 1 prayer as a companionship per hour. We found some awesome people. On Saturday, we went to Campo BOM. We helped a branch visit all it’s members so that they can form a ward. I went out with a member and found 2 families ready to return to the Lord’s flock. There are so many great things that happened this week! I wish I could write more but this post is already too long. I’ll end with a spiritual thought:

Of late, I have been studying the final words of Book of Mormon prophets. Overall, it has been amazing reading these great testimonies of spiritual giants. All of them testify of Christ’s eternal love and infinite atonement. This week I particularly loved Nephi’s last words, “I glory in plainness, I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed by soul from hell.” How are we glorifying Christ? Are we constantly showing him gratitude for his sacrifice? Do we really love him? As I pondered on these questions, I felt a wonderful spirit. Although I have much to improve, I know that I love the Lord and glorify him! I love you all, have an awesome week.

Elder Bodine

campo bom with 20 missionaries

About one year ago. I had the chance to teach Ezequiel the 5 missionary lessons in preperation for baptism. Shortly after I left the area, Ezequiel entered into the baptismal waters. This Sunday we went to a nation wide FHE and guess who I found... Ezequiel. He is prepping for a mission and is dating a young woman from the stake. He is super active in the church, and it was amazing to catch up with him. He is sooooo happy. What a difference the gospel makes in our lives.