Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Week 26

Thank you for all of the pictures.  Ana Paula Augusta (who is the mother in the picture) was really excited to see that stuff on facebook.  We ran into them on their way home from school and work and they pulled over to show me what they had found on facebook.  It was really cool and I happened to have cookies in my bag that i was able to give to them so it was a pretty good little strengthing of our recent convert and her less active parents in the street mainly thanks to your help there.

So to answer some of your questions this week, the Phippens are heading out this week.  They are moving their bags to the Office on Saturday and right after Church on Sunday theywill head out to end their mission and go to Spain for a quick tour before going home. It is really sad to see them go they are really fun and helpful but it is good that they are heading home Elder Phippen is already 78 years old and they need to go be with their families after 4 missions.  Sister phippen threw a little party for us during our ward corrdination meeting where she made a bunch of american food and especailly pumpkin bread which was really good and will be sad to not get american cooking every once in a while now.  Hopefully President will stick to the plan and send the new casal here and they will get here soon.

I know that I have recieved a package becuase we ran into the Ransoms the casal that works in the office and I assume that it is the one you sent for my birthday but it is still in the office until I go to the office on wednesday with elder alves so he can go and see the doctor about the old noggin.  so I will get it soon,  I also got a birthday card from granny this week! Thank you for that.

Also I will go ahead and tell you now that I am going to be a little late on your card for your birthday mom.  sorry this month has been really fast.  But It will come eventually.

As far as matt I think that he is pretty ok with it.  He is more focused on having a rough time with his first comp with lots of time in the mission that is trunky and dissobedient.   But he also was discurraged that witney wasent all that impressed with what she has seen of the new guy of jenna,

That is a sweet idea with the TV will it be all just open or are you going to put like cupboards on the back? and thank you so much for all the pics of the house.  It is super awesome to get to see how much is already done.  I have had a hard time trying to imagine what it is looking like but now I know. Also It looks great!!  I am really excited to get to see it here in a year and a half now that I am days away from 6 months in portugal.

We had interviews with president this week. It was a really fast interview for me which was a little dissapointing becuase last time we had an interesting conversation and I learned alot.  But this time he basically just told me that I should be getting ready to train a new missionary because we will be having a lot of newbies coming in here soon.  so if that really happens that will be interesting. haha

This week we had a division with the lideres de zona  and I stayed here in Alverca with Elder Da Veiga.  We were able to have lots of success that day and it was a really good experience.  We were able to run into investigators that we have we have been trying to teach for quite some time and we had good lessons with them.  We have two of which are older ladies that are really interested and have clearly been prepared by the lord.  We are working on improving our follow up with them so that we can more have more consistent contact and good lessons so we can start seeing more aggressive improvement.  

Candida one of them is reading the book of mormon fairly quickly but she is reading the Index first becuase she wants to make sure that she understands all of the words and terms so that she can read it more smoothly.  Its pretty funny but she is reading it pretty quick so we will let her do her thing.

We had a powerful spiritual lesson with Ibe this week.  The phippens visited with us again which was nice becuase it made it so that I was not completely alone since we teach him all in english.  We started out following up on his doubts about the preisthood and poligamy which he seems to be more comfortable with now.  But then he started in on more doubts about Baptisms for the dead and how eternal families work.  For the baptisms for the dead he shared a scripture in the bible that said that the dead cannot benefit from things in this life once they have passed on.  This was in the New world version of the Bible in English.  He also had another bible in english which was a different translation that in that verse the way the word benefit, that was causeing the doubt was changed and the scripture clearly did not have the same message.  It made me very greatful that we have the Book of Mormon and modern profets to clear up these doubts and mistranslations that the bible has so that we can have the fullness of the Gospel. Quickly after that we began to testify of how the book of Mormon is true and that he needed to act with faith and get baptised.  I invited him with a date then but as an investigator with lots of time without being able to go to church was hesitent to move out of his comfort zone. We then turned to the importance of doing this as a family and the blessings that can come through the gospel as a family.  He accepted to pray about the 8th of March as the date of the baptism of his family with his family and we will be able to talk to him again this friday to see if he recognized the answer he got.   He has just a few weeks after his work contract that has kept him working all sundays ends on Feb. 28 until he leaves for africa and then england.  His wife and children were supposed to have already moved to England but becuase of a doctors appointment will be staying until after he leaves for africa.  so they will be together long enough to go to church twice and get baptised and confirmed.  I know that the Lord has given him and his family the opportunity to get baptised in those few weeks. And I know that he this is his will for them to be baptised on the 8th. The spirit testified that to me strongly in that lesson and I know that It will testify to Ibe as well.  The Lord needs baptisms and so we can and will baptise as long as we are putting our faith in the Lord.

Alright have a great week yall Love you all and hope the ole homeland america is still treating you all well.  Talk to you soon 

com amor.

Elder Hobson

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