First off Elder Muniz and I were able to visit our investigator, Irmã Iria Maria. She is the mother of the Bishop´s wife and comes from a strong Catholic family. She has been coming to church for the last few months. She has expressed interest to be baptized but said now is not the time and she is moving back to Curitiba, Brasil this week. We are sad she is moving but she expressed so much gratitude to us and thanked us for visiting her and said she will continue going to church in Curitiba. She gave Elder Muniz and me each a huge box of chocolates and told us if we ever need a place to stay in Curitiba we are welcome at her house. I am sad she is moving back to Curitiba but it has been great to get to know her and teach her. She is a woman with great faith and yearns to know the truth and learn more about Christ. She is a great example of continually learning throughout our lives. It was funny, towards the end of our visit she said something funny, she said, "Look at me, I am in my 70s and there is still so much more for me to learn!" She´s great and I will miss her.
Elder Muniz and I also had a great visit and lesson with a less active family in the ward. They are a married couple with two children. We got to know them a little more and had a great lesson about faith and how we show our faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. All of them came to church yesterday, which was awesome, and they now have a goal to come to church every week!
This week we had lunch at the 1st counselor in the mission presidency´s house, Presidente and Irmã Maia. They live in the same apartment building as wedo, and we love visiting with them. They are so great and it was especially fun because President and Sister Souza came with us and we all had lunch together. It was great to be able to have a good hour or two with all them and just get to know each other more and share each other´s company.
A funny thing that happened this week was after district meeting we were locking up the chapel and I tossed the keys over the fence to Elder Vallo so he could lock the door and they ended up on the roof. So Elder Vallo and Elder Cardoso were locked inside the gates and we no longer had the keys to open it and let them out. It was a moment of shock and then an incredibly funny moment. To make a long story short Elder Muniz and I went to the Stake President´s house, picked up the keys, returned, then got a ladder, and got our keys down from the roof. I wish I had a picture of us trying the get the keys down. We used this little ladder from like the 1960s and Elder Vallo and Elder Muniz secured it as I climbed it and stood on the very last step. Then I grabbed a dead branch of a palm tree to bring the keys closer to me and eventually, I got them! It was quite the adventure.
Another thing that happened this week is that Elder Muniz and I went to Pizza Hut to pick up pizzas for the mission leadership council (a meeting with all the leaders in the mission). We went to one Pizza Hut but they didn´t have power so we ended having to drive to another Pizza Hut which ended up being great because we drove along the coast the entire way so I got to see the Harbor up close and the beautiful beaches here. We also drove by the site of the future temple in Fortaleza which was a great experience, too! So it ended up being a fun and unexpected adventure for Elder Muniz and me with Sister Souza.
Anyways, it was a great week. I really love the ward here. Each week I love the ward even more and they are really becoming some of my best friends. Next week is transfers so we´ll probably have some changes within the Mission Staff, but I´ll be staying. I've only had 4 months here and President told me to prepare for 6-8 months, and I will need to train a new Executive Secretary before I leave anyways. But transfer time is always a fun time in the Mission Office and I am looking forward to it.
I hope all continues to go well for everyone back home. Thank you all for the love and support. I feel your prayers. I love you all!
Until next week.
Love,
Elder Helvey
Bruno and I before church on Sunday. We visited Bruno before church to help him
tie his tie and walk with him to church. He is doing great!
This is Elder Muniz and I with Irmão Rui and his family. This is one of my favorite families in the ward.
He is from Cape Verde and she is from here in Fortaleza. They just had a baby and I love eating lunch at their house. Yesterday I helped Rui make his famous chicken
and he helped me learn how to make it too. It was fun!
This is a picture of me in front of a big famous Catholic church in our area named Igreja da Sé.
Me and HULK!
Centro, Fortaleza, Brasil!
No comments:
Post a Comment