Another week in Nanuque

 

Bom Dia! This week was another week in Nanuque! Haha thanks for everyone’s prayers on my behalf! Know that it is working and I have been given the strength of the Lord to keep going everyday! My knees and ankles are getting better so thank you all so much!!! But this week again flew by and it is hard to talk about everything that has happened but I will try my best!:)

I can’t remember if I have talked about Fátima or not but she is the mom of 4 members that we have in our ward here and she is almost ready for baptism! She has a testimony and everything and is keeping most of the commandments. But we are really working with her and I am sure she will be baptized this transfer!!! It is great to watch people as they progress in the Gospel! When we first met her she didn’t want to pray and she was very shy, but now she is praying and has a very strong testimony. She tells us that every time she reads about Joseph Smith and when we watched the video of the restoration with her she says "I get goose bumps all over my body!" She has now recognized that she is receiving these answers from our Heavenly Father. It is such an amazing feeling when you sit in a lesson and you and the investigator recognizes and can feel the Holy Ghost. The very best is when they say that they want to feel this all the time and you are right there to help them with the answer!

We have also been working with a young woman whose name is Ester. She is 21 and has really wanted to know why we are doing what we are doing! We have talked to her and have tried to help her and now it is just up to her to let the Spirit talk and answer her questions!! She feels good when she reads and prays but it is a little hard for her to commit because she wants to visit ALL of the churches here in Nanuque (there are more than 100 churches here) before she wants to make a decision. But we are teaching her and hopefully helping her. She really likes what we are teaching and feels that the doctrine is basic and easy for her to understand.

We also have a family who has had their children baptized and now just waiting for them to be baptized and the parents will be as well! They are a great family and I love all of them! We visit them daily if possible and are trying to help strengthen their family.

This week I have really been taking to heart and studying a letter that I received from one of my cousins that talks about a spiritual impression that he had to talk to me about serving a mission. In the letter he talks

about 2 things 1) The importance of being strictly obedient and 2) Just completely giving it your all for those whom you are serving. He told me how he studied the life of Christ and that is what I have been doing as well. I have been looking for those things that made Christ happy when he was serving people who did not accept his teachings. I feel like working with the people here in Brazil has been a challenge, one of the hardest things that I have ever done.  I feel like Brazilians and Americans are completely different in many ways. Even though this may be, I have to

take the example of the Lord who didn’t look at anyone and think less of them. He loved the Rabbis, Pharacies, Priests, Samaritans, lepers, whoever came into his path! In the book of 2 Nephi we learn that if He would have come at any other time to any other people they would have accepted him and His work as the Savior of the world but knowing this he came anyway. He wore himself out by serving those he lived with, never thinking a bad thought, never submitting to the devil. He was the Savior and they didn’t believe him. So at times when we feel as though we are lost and no one knows what we are going through, we need to remember that He has gone through it. He knows how it feels! He suffered in the Garden and on the Cross to know what we have to deal with. I am so grateful for all of the people in my life, like Kam who are willing to talk to me and are always there for me! I love my family and friends so much! You mean the world to me and I don’t know where I would be without you guys!!! THANKS!!!!:D:D:D

Love,

Elder Stilson

Physical Pain, Spiritual Blessings!

 

Hey everyone, first off I want to thank my Aunt Kristin and Cousin Brittney for taking the challenge to become missionaries at home and for my emails. It truly is a blessing to have such a great family that is centered on the Gospel and that are willing to share it with others so thank you all so much and thanks to everyone else who is doing this as well! 

But this week was really good! I have continued to have some physical pain with my knees and ankles but recognize some AMAZING spiritual blessings!!!!! Maria and Julia, the ladies that I talked about in my last email, have been struggling with the Adversary but we visited them every day this week and they has an amazing surprise for us on Wednesday night! THEY WANT TO BE BAPTIZED!!! Not only were they ready but they wanted to be baptized the next day. Thursday night we got everything ready and they were baptized. It truly was an answer to prayers. How amazing it is to know that the Lord will touch the hearts of millions and lead us where we need to go.

This week we also met a new family. Now the parents aren’t married yet but it was amazing to see how interested they are about the Gospel. One of the best parts about meeting with them is that they are REFERRALS from members. Teaching them has been great. The member who referred this family thought it was important for us to teach the principle of prayer, which we did and then we were also able to give the father Deraldo a blessing. It was amazing!! We invited them to church and when we passed by their home on Sunday morning, he was waiting for us ready to go. This week I really felt the Spirit and His love through all of these blessings. Explaining about the blessings that we have the power and authority to give, really was just a small and still voice that I followed and was blessed for it.

There are several other people here that we are teaching but it is hard. Many of the people are not ready to give up their Sundays to attend a church. We have been invited to several people’s homes and then after we have walked all the way there they decide they do not want us to come in.  We have even had the door slammed in our faces many time. It is very frustrating at times but it is alright. I know that I need to just keep working and sifting the wheat from the tares. 

Thank you all for everything you have given me and done for me. You are all a great blessing to me in my life.  Please continue to pray for the people in Brazil.

LOVE,

ELDER STILSON

Transfer to Nanuque

Hi everyone, well I have been transferred. I am serving in the Zone NANUQUE in the area NAKNUK.  My new companion is Elder Martin and I have been assigned to be his trainer.  He is from Sao Polo Brazil and has been out of the CTM for about a week now. I am excited about my new area but unfortunately Nakuque only has morros (hills) where we are serving.  I was hoping to give my knees and ankles a little break but I guess I am needed here. So Tuesday night we took a bus drive 8.5 hrs to Mines Gerais. I am no longer in the state of Espirito Santo, I am in the most NORTH part of the mission. I am excited to see how these next 5 weeks go.

So the area I am in has just been reopened so we are starting fresh. We have old investigators in our area book but there are no more than 20 names listed so we are going to be doing a lot of tracting and talking to new people. We did meet one lady who seemed very interested when we talked with her and we even marked her on date for baptism this week! Her name is Maria, she is really funny and she tells a million stories over and over and over again but we love teaching her. When we got to her house we opened with a prayer and I had a strong impression to share Alma 7:11-13.

When I shared this scripture she started to cry. She told us that this was the only comfort that she has heard! In between sobs she asked where our church is, “I need to go there this week!”  The next day we went to visit with her again. It went so well that we were able to mark her on a date for this Saturday.  She really wants this so we are excited to see how things go. Last night after church we went to visit her again, we taught her about the law of chastity. All of a sudden she put her head down and said I can’t be baptized anymore. She told us that she lived with another person and she is a sinner and can’t be forgiven right now. We were able to have some good discussions with her and asked her to continue to pray. We are hoping that she will continue to do that and will receive answers to her prayers just as she had before. I think it will be good and she will still be baptized. Please pray for her this week.

This week we also ran into our first Buddhist family. I don’t know why but I was not expecting that here in Brazil. We had a great discussion even though it was a little weird. We were able to talk to the daughter who believes in Christ and hopefully we can continue to teach her. I can’t believe how hard it is to teach someone who wasn’t raised with a Christian background or belief.  It is a great opportunity and we are working hard with her.

Yesterday we were knocking on doors and were invited into a man’s home. He is a pastor for the Assembly of God. It was really hard because he wanted to preach to us.  When we realized we weren’t going to get anywhere with him we decided it was time to go but he didn’t want us to leave he wanted to continue to preach to us.  He told us that he would only learn things taught from the Bible.  We didn’t accomplish much there but it was a great learning experience for me and my companion.

Well, I want you all to know that I love being a missionary and love serving the Lord.  I am happy that I am sharing the Gospel with the people here in Brazil and hope that I can continue to have success in this area.  I really appreciate all of your prayers, love and support.  I miss you all.
Love,

Elder Stilson

Faith

Good morning everybody. Well another 6 weeks have flown by and I am being transferred tomorrow! This transfer was really good and I am going to really miss the people in this area.

First off, this week we did NOT run into anymore problems with knifes!/;) haha Tuesday though it rained hard again which I was not really happy. My comp told me that usually Summer storms don’t last that long but with all of my experiences here in Cobilândia I really didn’t believe him so we left the house in flip flops. The water was to our ankles and about 15 mins later the rain stopped and we went the whole day in a white shirt tie black pants and... FLIP FLOPS! Haha oh great! But what can you do. That day we went and talked to Warlesson to make sure everything was good for his Baptism.... Well..... WE BAPTIZED HIM SATURDAY!!;) It was Awesome!

This week we really tried to find new people to teach but no one really seemed interested so we focused on the investigators we had and it was alright.

Now back to the baptism. We really wanted to make this special, he is the first person to be baptized in his family and we knew he had invited all of them to come. We were a little disappointed at the ward turn out. We were hoping to have more people come and support him in this. I really think it makes a difference when the ward steps in to help and support these newly baptized members.

We waited an hour hoping that more members would arrive but decided to begin with the 5 members who did come. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, get in contact with your ward missionaries and ask them when baptisms are and try your ABSOLUTE best to get to them! These recent converts need good friends! But with all that happened, He was finally baptized and the family was very happy. It went so well that they all want to start coming to our church! We couldn’t have asked for a better reaction.

This week I have been taking the challenge of Elder L. Tom Perry about really studying the Articles of Faith. One way I have been doing this is through James Talmages Articles of Faith. In one of the chapters about faith, Talmage talks about exactly what faith is. He says that there is a huge difference BELIEVING and having FAITH in something. If we believe in God we realize that he exists. That is the extent of belief, but faith in God is willing to do HIS will and to believe that he will do what is best for you. To believe that he will put things in your life that you need to know or that you need to learn. Faith is the ACT of believing!

We can say that we believe in God and his prophets but if we do not act on what they have said we DO NOT have faith. One thing that the prophet said is that MEMBERS AND MISSIONARIES NEED TO WORK TOGETHER. Do you believe in his words and do nothing or have you given referrals, talked to the missionaries, ASKED THEM HOW YOU CAN HELP? I have FAITH in the lord, I have FAITH in the prophet and the 12 apostles that is why I am doing all I can to harken to their voices. My challenge this week for EVERYONE is to increase your FAITH. Just as I have had to try to but it is NECESSARY! I know that God lives and I am developing faith everyday as I can! I love you all and this is a challenge for you. Read the last conference and find ways we can ALL strengthen our faith in God! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

LOVE YOU ALL,

Elder Stilson

Wait... HUH??

Well it is the last week of another transfer and this week has gone by so fast! It seems like  just yesterday that I got to email home so that means we must have had a lot of work this week!:D It was a really good week though.

So last P-Day we went to the Convênto da Penha again and the after that got some ice cream at a little place we like to call... MCDONALDS!!! It was really nice being able to taste a little bit of AMERICA!!!;) That was all we really did on P-Day! This week we have been focusing on four of our investigators. 

Joselene is an amazing woman! She is 32 and lost her husband 5 years ago. She has an 8 yr old son. It was really hard the first lesson because we really needed to teach the Plan of Salvation but my comp loves to teach about baptism and get them “dunked” so we started out with The Pre mortal life and then I taught the fall of Adam and Eve. After that I thought that we were going to talk about the Atonement and the 2nd lesson but my companion starts teaching about the Restoration and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.... Wait... HUH?? Haha oh dear... It kinda was an epic fail. After the 2 HOUR lesson I had to remind my companion that we needed to follow the plan because all of these concepts we are teaching are new and foreign to them. There were times I was even lost but the next time we went back we just focused on one lesson so that we didn’t lose her again. It went much better! We are so excited about her growth and hope that we can help her understand the importance of attending Church every week.

We also met with Warlesson. He went to mutual this week, helped clean the church, played soccer with the young men, and went to church again on Sunday. He is only 14 but has a great testimony about the gospel and is learning so much. He reads the Book of Mormon every night for at least 30 mins. He really studies it and loves what he is learning. We have his baptism this week on Saturday at 7pm. Please pray for him specifically!!!! His parents are letting him do this but have really questioned his decision. Even though he is prepared I feel like he could use some extra support through your payers J we are SUPER EXCITED for him!

The last couple we are teaching are the most amazing people. They are not married yet and so we have been teaching them about the importance of marriage. They are a young couple and have their struggles.

When we went to visit them only the mom was there so we were talking to her and her family outside. Soon the dad came home and he and the mom went inside and were there for about 10 mins when the dad yelled "STILSON HELP!!" Wait.... HUH?? So I ran in there to find the mom crying and holding a KNIFE. The dad had the mom pinned to the bed! Elder Freire, my companion, ran and tried to take the knife and started yelling at her but she wouldn’t give it up. I walked over and talked to her and finally was able to get her to calm down enough to drop the knife. We sat and talked for a while about how important it was that they both stop the fighting and that they NEED the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives! We then discussed the importance of marriage, baptism and having the priesthood in the home. It was kind of good that this happened when I was there, I feel like I was able to say the right things to help them both.  Now we have the dad’s Mom and Aunt helping them.

I love this area and the people we are teaching here. I kind of hope I get to stay one more transfer so that I can continue the work with them but I will do the Lords will! I love the work that I am doing even though it is hard and sometimes a little crazy! I love you all so much and I am grateful for all that you do for me. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! Keep the faith and help the missionaries!:)

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

ELDER STILSON:)

"It was something I have NEVER felt in my life"

This week was really good! I need to make a correction though. I told my mom last week that I had boils but I used the wrong word, they were blisters. Mom, those little blisters on my arm have cleared up. Now I am just working on the legs now ;)  This week was awesome! We met an Amazing family. Their names are Washington, Valdirene, Mateus, Walesson, and Ryani. They are really receptive and it has been great working with them. We have a baptism with Walesson this week! It was very spiritual as we taught and worked with him this week. We had invited him to come to church with us and so we walked a half hour to meet him. He lives in Premeiro de Maio.

My companion was a little worried that he wouldn’t come with us but when we got to his house he was waiting for us at the door!!! Right before sacrament meeting we got a call from our Zone Leader and he challenged us to talk to each of our investigators who were at church with us to pray during the passing of the sacrament and ask if this church was true. We had 6 investigators at church and so we asked everyone to do this... After the meeting I asked Walesson if he had done this and he said, “yes, it was something I have never felt before in my life" after that he said "I want to be baptized".  He is 14 years old and has a very strong testimony of the gospel. I am so grateful that we were given the counsel for this small invitation. The spirit during the sacrament was so strong. We asked all of our other investigators and they all said the same thing that it was something that they had NEVER felt before in their lives!! What an amazing blessing to know that these people want this in their lives!

We also had the baptism of Thamiris, it was awesome!! The spirit was so strong during the baptism and then I was able to be in the circle when she received the Holy Ghost. She will be an amazing missionary one day.  This week was just full of these great experiences and I really felt the Spirit especially during the end of the week. I love serving the Lord and I know that this church is true. Those of you who have fallen away "Come, Join with US!" You had a testimony at one point, it is still there! If you know of someone who has fallen away share your testimony with them! Invite them to church and to pray during the sacrament!!! You WILL feel something you have never felt before! Also do this for YOURSELF so you can feel this amazing spirit and then share it with others!! I love you all!!!

Love,

Elder Stilson

The Power of a Child's Prayer

Hi everyone, it has been another HOT week here in Brazil. Things have been really good. This week we met with some ELITE families! The first one we met with was Marcos family. They have an amazing 10 year old little girl named Thamiris. She is the first child who wants to be baptized and it is not for reasons that parents want her to be baptized. She really wants to do this for herself. We started the lesson with her and her dad. We asked if she would give the opening prayer.... The Prayer of a Child is the most amazing thing in the world! The power and spirituality of her prayer was amazing! When we closed the prayer everyone was near tears. The Spirit was so strong.  We had a great lesson with them and all of her answers were amazing!!

On Friday, we were also able to work with a member in the ward who is less active whose name is Rafael.  He is 18 and has a 2 yr old son. He wants to help the missionaries in any way he can and he loves working with us. He came to the church at 8 in the morning and helped us take care of all of the things we needed to get done. We have studied with him and it was awesome. He even helped us teach and he did a great job. He has such a strong testimony!

We spend every day walking up and down the morros and it is taking a toll on my knees and ankles but it is definitely worth it when we meet these amazing families and get the opportunity to teach their families. The pain is worth it! I also woke up the other morning with boils on my arm and elbow. I’m not sure what those are from but hopefully it is nothing.

I am sorry that this is so short, we don’t have very much time again this week but I want to thank you all for your love and support. I love you all and I can feel your prayers everyday!

LOVE YOU,

ELDER STILSON