God is Great

Hey so this week was amazing.

So first off, we have been working a lot.  We received uma referencia [a reference] from Andre, a 13 year old member and we talked with two of his friends and marked dates. 

Then on Friday, things went south. The past week almost all our dates fell through, my comp and I were a little tired of knocking doors, and were a little tired of the area. It got a little better but was hard. 

Then Saturday, we went to Homero, a member and his daughter was there so we started to give her a message, but then turned it into a lesson and then committed to the 5th for baptism! Then we talked to Homero and he was in shock haha. 

Then on Sunday God blessed us with miracles. So first, we went to wake up a member João Victor because he usually sleeps in past church and when we arrived, an investigator was there and he said that he would go too. Wha... alright. 

We had two other girls that thought church started at 7 so they were there... at 7 lol. Fernanda was mad at Ingride (the two girls) but after church we committed them to the 5th as well so I will hopefully have some pictures that day. And that night we were trying to hit the standard of new investigators. (from Dahrl:  When I asked him what this means, he said 15.  What I think he is saying is that they have a goal of getting 15 new investigators in a week or a month.)  So we started and got 4 IN 25 MINUTES. That was a record and I just turned to my comp and said, "Why don’t we do this all the time?" So you will see more from us hahaha. 

I have been trying to teach my comp English and the other Brazilian with the other American and it is hilarious. We are reading the Book of Mormon in English and it is hilarious. 

Well, this week was awesome. I will talk to you guys next week!

Love,

Elder Kupferer

Festa Junina

Ai caras beleza?! Man this week was hard but a lot of fun as well. 

So this week, we had two Festa Juninas [*] and if you ask, what is that, well.... good question. I don’t know haha but our ward threw it and it was really cool. We also went to a birthday/Festa Junina para um menino [for a boy] called Diego, who is one of our investigators. 

Also, we went out and worked some members which is always fun. 

Oh and I am teaching my comp some hymns in English which is pretty entertaining.

 Also, we had a baptismal interview but she was drinking coffee the day before so the next one is for this week! And we had a date fell through so that was hard because she is awesome but fell through because she didn’t want to go to church because of some of the people there (long story) but Ronaldo and Miriam are stronger than ever, asking awesome questions, just need to get married! They made food for me and my companion every week for the past three weeks and it is amazing. 

I also hiked up to the Christ statue again so that was awesome. 

Thanks for all the love and support. Talk to you all next week!

Elder Kupferer

[*] “Festa Junina” is the term used to describe the traditional festivities that happen at the beginning of the Brazilian winter in June. It is a month to commemorate some of the most famous saints for Catholics; namely Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter. It is also a month to honor rain, the harvest season and marital union. 

Fourth of July...Kind of

Hey everyone!

So, this week we celebrated the Fourth of July! Sort of. Since I am in Brazil, no one does anything for an American holiday so I went to an açai place and celebrated with that. 

Then this week we just worked. Like, I don’t think I have had a week this busy, but what a blessing. 

First, we finished less actives in a bairu (neighborhood) called “Linhares” and they said to come back in a little bit. 

So, we continued and we talked with a reference and they let us in. We taught them, one had already been taught but the other three haven’t and all three of them accepted baptismal dates! And they were going to come to sacrament meeting, but there was a family emergency. 

But then we are continuing with a lady named Aparecida, who believes in everything, but when it comes to baptism, she is hesitant. So, we are just working with her and her husband (a member) Elizier, is awesome! He is trying to speak English so he is talking to me in english, and he sings. He is also 86 years old! So that is impressive. 

For sacrament meeting, we had 7 investigators there so that was amazing! But one didn’t come because of a different family that was already there. They apparently hate each other so that will be interesting to see what happens because they are both awesome. 

And we also had Zone Conference which was awesome. Sister Lacerda talked about 8 steps for emotional stability so that has been good to use because if you are emotionally healthy, your body functions better and you can work more effectively. Also, President Lacerda and the assistentes all said great things that I am trying to continue to use. But that is it for this week. 

Love you guys!

Elder Kupferer

Transfers and 4 Months

Oi tudo mundo! Esta semana foi legal! 

[Hi everyone!  This week was cool!]

So this week was the first week with my new companion, Elder Papalino, from São Paulo! He is really cool and Elder Bledsoe and Elder Pereira arrived as well. 

We then got to work and we have 3 new baptismal dates. And something really cool happened this week. Ok two things. 

First, I hit 4 months in the mission! I can’t believe that that much has already passed! 

Second was a literal gift from God. So, we were a house with some investigators, and we were teaching about the plan of salvation. So we finished and we felt like we should invite them to get baptized so we invited them for the 22 of July and the mom got really spooked. She then told us that her dad died one year ago from that date and that she was planning on doing nothing that day because she would be super sad and then we came along and told her something that could change her life. It was an awesome experience. Then after that, they mentioned that they were not married yet because of some legal issues but are getting married this month! So guess I am going to a marriage! And as we were finishing up we asked them the three things they need to do (these things are usually read the Book of Mormon, pray to know if it is true, and go to church). We said one and the dad said, marriage (I mean, yeah that too) and then we said second, and they said baptism (YES not what we were going for but yes) and the best thing is that they came to church! Dude I have such a strong testimony of our Heavenly Father that He lives and helps to prepare His children to return back to Him. I am grateful for this week and am excited to continue to work! 

Love,

Elder Kupferer