We Have Lives To Bless

Hi Everyone!

This week I was informed that there is a bug here that, if it pees on your skin, it leaves a huge burn. That’s about the scariest thing I’ve ever heard, and they told me it is common and it’s casual. Welcome to my new nightmare.

To be completely honest, a lot of times I don’t even want to write a blog because when I finish I just feel like the words I write don’t do my experiences justice!

This week my friend here, Irmão Jerry, has just been killing it. We met him sitting outside of the house of one of the less active members in our ward. They were sitting together drinking and when they saw us coming they started to scramble as they tried to hide the beer bottles. They were drunk, so we just shared a short message with them and were on our way. A day or so later we ran into Jerry in the road, and somehow he remembered us, and we started to talk and set an appointment to return and teach him … our one condition was that he wouldn’t be drinking! We showed up the next day at the house of Irmão Batista, a less active member, and Jerry was there waiting for us. We taught the Word of Wisdom and Jerry has not smoked or had beer or coffee since then! Woohoo! This week we continued to teach him and he is progressing by leaps and bounds! One night, we went to see him and he changed his clothes, cut his hair and I was moved to tears teaching him as I a starting seeing the Light of Christ literally appearing in his face. The difference in light was physical, and he told us that even his mom and his sister noticed a difference. He just loves church, and Irmão Batista is being such a good example and turning his life around too. Last night, Jerry asked us if, when he is baptized, he can visit and teach people like we do. We said that of course he could come with us and teach the gospel. When you know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, your strongest desire is to share it with everyone. That’s the only thing that gets my tired body out of bed every day at the crack of dawn! I am loving it! Irmao Jerry will be baptized this Saturday, even though he asked for it to be a lot sooner, haha. Keep him in your prayers please.

Yesterday was awesome as we were able to visit a lot of less active members with the sisters in the Relief Society. It was so fun and it got me thinking about what I did before my mission on Sundays, and what I will do after my mission on Sundays. Yes, the Sabbath day is a day of rest, but it’s a day of rest from the world and a day to save the lost sheep. I have been reading about the life of our prophet, and one day during my personal study, I was moved to tears about the love and charity he has for people in his life. That love he feels motivates him to ACT. When it comes to living the gospel we can’t just dip our toe in the water and say we went swimming; we can’t just testify and forget to DO. We need to pray with faith … Joseph Smith’s questions focused not just on what he needed to know, but also on what was to be done! His prayer was not simply, “Which church is right?” His question was, “Which church should I join?” Joseph went to the grove to ask in faith, and he was determined to act. We need to be doing the same. Pray for opportunities to find those that are lost, and then be prepared to do whatever is needed to bring them home.

Our Heavenly Father never loses sight of the eternal value of His children, even when they sometimes do. Find someone to visit and bring back into the loving arms of our Savior and Redeemer. I know that this is truly how we keep the Sabbath Day holy … we love and serve our Heavenly Father. It is the only way we can truly receive joy in this life. We have lives to bless, and brothers and sisters to carry home.

I love you all so much!

Sister Vance