Bemvindos Daltons e meu anniversario!

This week was pretty eventful--the Daltons arrived and they toured the mission. They are awesome!!! President Dalton is a really big man(he´s like 6'6" and very large), and Sister Dalton is adorable but doesn´t speak like any Portuguese. President Dalton talked a lot about his focus being the temple. He wants us to be missionaries that help everyone get to the temple because we will baptize and retain more families(instead of individuals) that way. He also wants us to teach all 5 lessons before and after baptism for every person. He told us about his experiences in California in his stake with effective baptismal services. Normally, we have a talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost, and we sing hymns while we are waiting for the person who got baptized to change clothes. He told us that instead we will have a spiritual thought before the baptism about temples, then the baptism, then while we are waiting the missionaries will teach the 1st discussion-The Restoration, then the person who got baptized will bear their testimony to their friends and family(this requires some motivation because usually they are nervous to talk in front of people but practice with them before). He said that when his stake did this baptisms soared. Baptisms are one of the most special and spiritual meetings we have in the church, and we should use them as effectively as we can. 

He also talked about how all recent converts need a friend, to be nurtured by the good word, and a responsibility; often that responsibility won´t be a calling right away, but every member has a responsibility to do their family history work. He said, ``We will save baptisms and retain our converts if we will teach and help them understand their responsibility to save their ancestors. We will teach them about the temple and what we do there. We will teach them about the plan of happiness. We will teach them about the spirit world and where their ancestors--their moms, dads, grandparents-- are right now. Their ancestors are waiting for them. They are waiting on the other side of the veil. They need the ordinance of baptism to be saved (John 3:5). They need help. Your investigators are perhaps the only people in the world that can help them. When they understand their responsibility to help their ancestors, their immediate family, and future generations, they will keep commitments. Baptism will be about more than just them. It is just a step, a very important step, in getting to the temple and saving their family.`` We practiced teaching lesson 5 about the priesthood, temples, and family history using the My Family pamphlet. The doctrine needs to be taught simply and clearly (like 1 Corinthians 5:29). 

This week we also taught our investigators Rosalia and Valmir. We brought Gabriel(Biel) our 12 year old recent convert. He is awesome! He has like no fear to contact people on the street, and he is epic in our lessons. He asked them if they have prayed yet for an answer. They said no. He then bore his testimony about his experience when the sister missionaries began teaching his family. He told them about his first prayer on his knees. He said he didn´t receive an answer right away, but he kept praying, reading the scriptures, and going to church. He bore his testimony of the change that happen in his home. His mom stopped coming home drunk. They have such a stronger relationship now. He can feel the peace and they are so much happier. He committed them to pray and told them that he wanted to come back with us(the Sisters) and follow up with them. 

They came to church this week too! We had a very powerful fast and testimony meeting where both Sister Salles and I bore our testimonies and cried at the pulpit. Rosalia was in tears when we came back to sit next to her. She told us that she has difficulties praying, but I know for sure that she felt the Spirit at church yesterday. 

Also our invetigator Antonia (Gabriella and Gabriel´s mom) told us that she hasn´t drinken coffee since we saw her last (like 2 weeks ago) and she wants to get married and baptized soon. We hadn´t visited her in a while because she wasn´t progressing and was never home, so we were really excited for her. 

Other than that, yesterday was pretty uneventful. Today is Sister Costa´s birthday--I am only 1 day older than her ;) 

Love you! 

Sister Sadie Bledsoe