Week #51 - I Go Home in One Year!!

I can't believe it, I'm going home in 1 Year!!  I kinda hit my year mark - I leave on August 11th of next year.  Elder Goncalvas & I celebrated and bought chocolate and a steak!  It was incredible!!

It's been a pretty crazy week again!  To start off we had a awesome zone conference and we gave a training. My companion was told about preparing a message and he never told me and totally forgot.  So when we arrived at the Zone Conference he saw our name on the list.  We became frantic and asked if we could have 5 min to prepare.  The Spirit was with us - we  talked about the missionary handbook and it went really well.  So grateful for the Spirit.

This week we had some lessons with one or a few of our people we are teaching and wow were they powerful!  The top of the list was when we were with our friend Orezeo.  He's 30 years old, not married, and we have been teaching him for about 2 weeks.  This past week he said I'm done.  I like my church I am in and I received a answer from God that my church is true... we paused and I shared my testimony about how Joseph Smith already did this prayer. the same one Orezeo said he did.  I promised him that he would receive an answer if he prays with a open heart.  The next day we visited him and he was in tears, he said eu fiz aquela oracao, quero ser batisado. (I made that prayer, I want to be baptized!).  So we marked him for next week, way pumped for him.   We have 7 marked this week and I think all 7 will be baptized too. We have two brother s Edwardo & Joakeen and they are both 18.  We had a great lesson with them this week about tithing and wow also another powerful lesson.   weird lesson this week I'll tell  you guys about next week.  It was really freaky, but we are ok now, ill just say the devil is real. 

I went on divisions this week with a new American and that was way fun!  I talked to him about the states and stuff.  He is excited to be a missionary.  I'm excited for him to.  He is exactly the same as me when I arrived, pumped but trying to adjust to how different EVERYTHING is here, haha. 

So the craziest story of the week - about an emergency transfer maybe... these two missionaries were having trouble getting along so President told me to go with one of the missionaries to a different area and the other one to stay with Elder Van Orden.  I'm not sure if it is a permanent transfer or something temporary.  I think we will return back to normal by the end of this week.  So right now I am with Elder Goncalvas.  He is from Angola, Africa and he is way awesome.  He only speaks Portuguese, so I am teaching him some English.  Way cool.  He had two people prepared for baptism - so I participated with this on Saturday!  

Just know the work here is growing tons!  I love this gospel and I know that all of us will be blessed when we make sacrifices in our lives. Thanks for everything.  

Com Amor,  Elder Rees