Well, my first transfer in Brazil is over. Already. Looking back, it´s amazing to consider all the experiences and miracles Elder Medeiros and I have participated in this transfer. And there is so much ahead. Luckily, Elder Medeiros and I are staying in Barreto and we are so excited for this next transfer! There is something about it that we can't explain, but we know it will be a great one.
And so begins A Transferênçia de Milagres/The Transfer of Miracles.
Leonardo was baptized this week! We´ve been waiting for this moment for too long. Leonardo (age 28) has been investigating and attending the church for over 2 months and has a great testimony of the gospel. But when we would talk to him about baptism, things would get crazy. Doubts would arise, excuses would be made... and it just didn´t make sense. We have been praying for a change of heart and well, it happened! He called us and told us that he was ready to be baptized. And within 3 days, we had a baptism.
Brasileiros crack me up. The baptism was scheduled for 7:30pm, Leonardo showed up at 8pm and by 8:30pm we had a full house and beautiful baptism. Leonardo was baptized by his best friend Gustavo. Gustavo is 16 and a convert of 2 months. He comes with us to appointments and is already planning on serving a mission; he is my hero. When Leonardo came out of the water, he stopped in place for a moment and started to weep for joy. It was a moment I will never forget. It's amazing that God has restored his Priesthood power for us to enter the waters of baptism and find the love and joy He has in store for us.
I am learning that the mission is all about change and repentance. As missionaries, we invite people to come to Christ; we teach what our Heavenly Father has in store for His children and show the way to a better life with faith in Jesus Christ. He invites us to change for the better and become more like Him. And the ONLY way we can do this is through repentance. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can come to the Lord, become clean, leave behind the old us, and be like Him. Repentance is something that I've feared and never truly never understood until now, but as I repent every day, I feel the peace and happiness Heavenly Father wants us to have. I am so grateful for this opportunity to change. I know that I can become the missionary and the person the Lord needs me to be.
Com Deus Irmãos,
Élder Hamilton
"So let us go to the place of penitence. If going there is what it takes to make us truly penitent and to enable us to lay claim to the gift of mercy, then we have to do it. I know it isn´t easy to go back and undo and make a new beginning, but I believe with all my heart that it is easier and surely more satisfying to begin anew than go on and try to believe that justice will not take its toll." - Elder Jeffery R. Holland
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