The difference the gospel makes for families is incredible

Sept. 1, 2014

        Sounds like quite the eventful week... I still can’t believe the missionaries are allowed to go to Pirate games! haha we aren’t even allowed to play sports with members... let alone watch them in the stadium downtown. Sounds like it was fun though.  

        So it made me laugh that you said the corn hole set will probably be done by the time I get home haha. As the years go by the work seems to happen a little slower around the house. Hopefully you can manage to get the Jeep fixed before Christmas haha. 

        How tall is Cole these days?!?! He looks like a white Kevin Durant next to Sister Uber in that picture haha. Him and Emerson look so much older that when I left, and it hasn’t even been that long!      

        Sounds like the branch party was a success too... we have ward activity every Saturday night, but we’re lucky to get more than 35 people... this week we had more investigators that came to the baptism and activity Saturday night than members haha, but at least the leader in the ward comes. Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll be getting more people to participate. 

        So this week we baptized a guy names Marcelo. His wife was already a member, less active, and his kids were baptized a few months ago and he got married this Friday and baptized Saturday. The difference the gospel makes for families is incredible when you get to see the process take place over time. He went from being a man that drank and partied to only wanting to do what’s right. This Sunday one of the kids in the family drew me a picture of the temple and wrote a note on it with his testimony eternal families. They’re a family that have almost nothing of wealth or material things, but spiritually they have everything. 

        So my new comp is from Porta Alegre. He knew my second companion, Elder Granville, back when they lived at home. He has 3 months on the mission. He has a girlfriend too... but I told him about how every companion that I’ve had until now on the mission... that had a girlfriend when he became my companion... ended up breaking up with her by the end of the transfer haha. He’s a good missionary though. And the other American in my house is Elder Wilhelm from Virginia. We´re making tons of goals as a district and getting more people to come to church and more families.

        So these days we are starting to teach this lady and her son. We taught her a few times and she came to church and after we gave her a Book of Mormon. We explained to her the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it will help her come closer to God. In 1 week she read until 2 Nephi! haha we only asked her to read alma 32 and alma 5 and now I think she’s finishing second Nephi... one day when we were at her door, she was telling us about how she had been praying the night before about the church and the Book of Mormon and everything... and she said that night was the best night sleep she had in her life, and she just felt that everything was right and now she wants to get baptized. The Book of Mormon is really what converted her... if it wasn’t for that book, she would still be forgetting to pray and forgetting to read... but through that book she felt the spirit and wants to continue... because it brings a feeling that reminds us spiritually... just a little bit... of what it’s like to live and be with our Father in Heaven.  

        I hope everything’s going well. Have a good week! Love you guys.

Élder Udy