Ferraria Ainda (again) Week 15

This week was a good week, and a bad week, but mostly a good one. We have been working with a less active, and her husband along with her less active mother. They are cool. Also we have been having a lot of success with one investigator, Edinaldo. There was a video game activity this week and he went to that with his brother. Also he came to church this week. We have been talking with his family, and they are interested, but he is the only one interested enough to actually act on it right now. We will get him firm, then get the rest of the family.

We have also been finding, and working more with the less actives. We brought one to church this week, and have started talking with a lot of others. One, Lucas, is a huge Harry Potter fan, like you walk in his room, and all you see is Harry Potter. Also he looks like a Weasley. He also has a rat that he named Scabbers, so that shows how much he is obsessed. Anyway we started talking with him, and we will reactivate him. 

I have learned so much in this past week. I was reading in Romans 12, and it talked about making your life a living sacrifice to God. I read this, and I really took it to heart, and decide to really, truly lose myself in the work, as President Gordon B Hinckley said in one of his talks. I have really realized that this time is the Lord´s time, and not mine, so anything that I am feeling, or if I want to rest for any reason, I have to think, ``Am I using the Lord´s time right?`` It has also helped me when I am tired, and I just want to stop. I just think ``This is not my time, this is my sacrifice,`` and it really helps me keep going. I think if we have this mind set in our lives we can get through any hard time that we are having. 

I also had an experience with the Lord really helping us do his work, and reach our goals. We had some trouble finding new investigators this week, but we had made a goal of 12 novos (new investigators) for the week. We got to Saturday, and we only had 4. We made a goal for that day to get 4 more novos, and by the end of the day, and I don´t know how, but we got 7 new investigators. I know that it really was the Lord working to strengthen our faith in him, because I know that if he hadn´t prepared the way for us we wouldn´t have been able to take it. I know that the Lord really prepares a way for us in our lives, Just as it says in 1 Nephi 3:7. Also in church this Sunday we learned about obedience, and we learned that when the Lord gives us a commandment, it is because he knows that ALL of his children can obey it. He never gives us commandments that we can´t obey, we just need to find the way to fulfill that commandment. 

I am so grateful to be here in Brazil serving the Lord, and I know that in whatever circumstance we are in, and in whatever part of life we are in we can continue onward, and we can endure to the end.

-- Élder Pettingill

These are some pics from basketball with the district this week.