2nd Week in Catalão

This week was great!

Last week after sending emails we walked to the bank that's in the ''downtown'' of Catalão. I've been wearing the shoes out this week because we live an hour away from the school where we have meetings. We proselyte close to the school so that means an hour walking to and from our house every day. It's amazing to think you can walk across a city in an hour. haha.

So anyway, we were walking to the bank and a lady crossed the street to talk to us. She said "Hey! I'm from this church." She was baptized 12 years ago in Belem and didn't know that the church existed here in Catalão. We're excited to visit her and invite the rest of the family to be baptized and join our group here in Catalão. 

The rest of the week we visited Bety, who was going to get baptized this Saturday. I say was becaus on the day of the baptism she got cold feet and hid. haha. She's in her 60's. On the day of the baptism she left home and didn't come back until 8 o clock... We were pretty suprised until we found out her neighbor had told her if she got baptized she would have to always use a skirt and couldn't watch TV anymore.... 

We also had a miracle where a student we had taught left the pamphlet we gave him at college. Another student found it and she called us asking us to visit her and her husband who are having some problems at home. They both came to church sunday so we are excited to teach them this week.

After all the running around during the week, teaching 28 lessons, calling everyone saturday, and the baptism falling through, we were pretty tired saturday night. But it was worth it. Sunday we had 10 investigators at church. Two couples that are married and a few part member families. The best part was that the less active men that we are working with to start the branch came too! We asked one to help us set up chairs and another to give a ride to our investigator. It worked! they all came. 

We need two more melchezidek priesthood holders to start the branch. Sunday we had 3 Less actives that can receive the Melchezidek priesthood here in a bit, and 2 more investigators that are candidates as well!

We've been doing service for the members too. Straightening up the yards of one that had a surgery these past few weeks and a lady in a wheelchair that has a bunch of dogs. It's been great because they always treat us super well, always giving the best lunch they can and everything.

Super excited to keep the work going this week. Hoping to see some more baptisms here in a bit. Catalão is super cool because we keep finding families that didn't know the church is here now, and other families that are less active but are coming back. It's so cool to see how God is leading us to find all of them and them to find us!

Have a great week and hope you all had a good THANKSGIVING!!! (yep, guess who forgot again) I remembered Sunday that it was this week. Haha. But I did eat a roast chicken on Sunday, so I guess that counts right?

Love y'all

Elder Wallace

Telegram from Catalão

Hello Family!

I'm loving the new area! Catalão is everthing I ever hoped for in an area. It's a town that we can cross walking fast in an hour and a half (which we do about twice a day to get to where we work, close to the church) The Group Leader, Marcelo, and his wife Salete are super members. They're from Santa Catarina (the south) And Salete reminds me a bit of Sister Willard. She makes friends quickly with any investigators, and blows up the Relief society with awesome lessons. Of the four days I've been here, we've eaten lunch there twice and they also invited us to dinner but we had other appointments. Super nice family.

For now we have 3 Melquezedek priesthood holders, we need two more to become a branch. This week a member named Gotardo was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood. We've got an investigator that will get married and baptized here in a little bit. An investigator that will be baptized this Saturday and a recent convert's friend that we want to baptize this week also.  

As a group, we're kind of on our own out here. The members are meeting in a school until we become a branch and can rent a house. In my opinion the school is even better, it fits more people. We had 31 people at sacrament meeting 5 investigators. So attendance here is already going really well! To baptize people we either use a pool in a private school, or the resevoir in the middle of the city. I'm excited to get things going, we have a lot of potential here.

It's so good to be in an area where the people are anxious for the church to grow! People here are really receptive, it's easy to get in and teach. I think the Lord blesses the city because of the members.

My companion is from São Paulo, Elder Eric Badu. He's from the same ward as Elder Silva, This is his third transfer so he just finished being trained. He's super excited and has a lot of faith. I'm learning to understand the slang they use in the capital haha. 

Besides this I'm just happy and excited to be here. I feel like Amon when he said, "yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time, perhaps until the day I die"

haha.

We're so close to being a branch!!! Just need a few more priesthood men to step up and do their part!

Love you all and for sure next week I'll send some pics!

Elder Wallace

Catalão and freedom.

So let's start with the biggest news!

I was transfered! woohoo! President got back from his conference for Mission Presidents and changed basically the whole transfer he had already made. Now I'll stay this week to train my replacement, Elder Brooks. Friday I'm of to one of the areas I've been dying to go to; Catalão!

Catalão opened two transfers ago. I'll be the fourth missionary to go there. It's a city of about 150,000 people and just our companionship in the whole city. There isn't a branch or even a group. For now, they're meeting in a member's house. I'm super excited to get going and my new companion is from Elder Silva's ward: Elder Badu! He's pretty cool, from são Paulo.

During this week we worked up a storm, finding a few families and had some new investigators at church. Elder Brooks will get to see our investigators get married, I'll ask for fotos and will be a little sad to leave them now. But, I'll go where He wants me to go.

Last P-day we played with a football, and ping-pong in our building. One of E. Silva's recent converts, Ricardo, threw with us. Ricardo's birthday is November 6th, so he invited us over to eat cake with him. Ever since he was baptized he has been obsessed with all things "mormon". He's planned for me to adopt him and take him to live in salt lake. haha.

Saturday we had "Helping Hands" project in another city that hopefully will have a branch soon. We handed out flyers and invited people to come to the park where they learned about food storage, health, cut hair for free, and could get their documents cleared up by some lawyers that were there. It was cool to do something a bit different, certainly got the members that went excited.

Sunday we said good-bye to a family that has always helped us a ton with lunch and rides for our investigators; Paulo and Dilamar. 

This week I realized how important it is to make our will the same as the Lord's will. Many times in the mission I try to think "what is the secret to success" Like how many lessons, how many people I need to talk to, How many lessons with members. 

But really what makes the difference is giving the Lord my heart 100%. Giving all I've got to give. He makes up the rest.

Have a great week, 

Love you all.

So the pics are:

P-day football

Cake with Ricardo and William

Paulo's family; Dilamar, Talita, and Pamela.

"Helping Hands" in Senador Canedo.

Halloween in Brazil

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To tanner and Jess!

So this week was good. We're starting a new program in the mission with a system of four levels of goals. Every week you can get to a certain level depending on your results. The goal is to be LEVEL FOUR haha. 

I guess we'll have cards that will help us keep track of what level we've gotten too.

So this week was very busy. Some disappointments with investigators that are having a hard time with keeping some commandments and not enough desire to keep trying. It's always hard to leave them, but we have to keep going with the people that have the desire to change. 

I love the scripture in Helaman
“Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.“Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
“Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall … lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course …
“And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven.”  
^{https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/true-happiness-a-conscious-decision?lang=eng#1-}
Helaman 3:27-30

It all depends on our desire like alma says in 24:9

for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

On the bright side we have two investigators that are golden, that are going to get married! one of them to a less active that is coming back in full force to the church. I'm super excited for the wedding and baptism.

Halloween hardly showed his face here. haha. But I expiremented with some pineapple carving. I actually liked it a lot. You can eat the pineapple while you're carving it, and the smell of burnt pineapple isn't really to bad. 

Throw in 4 snickers that we found in a shop that sells them and presto: Halloween in our apartment.

Looks like my time is coming to an end in the office. President has almost finished the transfer and I think I will train a new historian.

Love you all!

Elder Wallace