Resgatada

Going into the mission, I expected the work to be focused on finding and baptizing people who are searching for the truth. It has been a blessing to be a part of that. What I didn't anticipate was the opportunity to work with less active families.  This has been extremely rewarding for me. They are children of God who are in need of  just as much help and light as those who haven't discovered it yet. And luckily in this mission, we are blessed with the charge to set goals and work on "rescuing families".

I have worked with Bruno and Angela since the first day I arrived in Rio. They are recent converts and are the greatest people. Angela is our second mom here: always worrying about us and making sure we are in good health, and on occasion makes delicious homemade ice cream:)   While she has always warmly welcomed us into their home, she had distanced herself from the church. We have visited them once a week, every week of my time here, inviting and inviting them to church. While Bruno generally comes, Angela continues to make excuses. This Sunday, after working with and begging her, she came to church!! It was so rewarding to see her participating and having the opportunity to partake of the sacrament. And she brought her crazy and awesome brother Vladimir! It was such a miracle for us and a reminder of the value of families here in this life.

 

Élder Hamilton

Missionário de A Igreja De Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Últimos Dias

Ala Barreto - Missão Brasil Rio De Janeiro

 

 

Início das Milagres

Feliz Ano Novo!
 

Hope everyone had a good New Year's holiday! New Year's Eve here was pretty crazy awesome. Parties and funk music throughout the day with all sorts of weird traditions including men in short skirts and dyed hair, people running around with giant garbage bags, and what not. We were woken by the beautiful sound of explosions, so we joined the people in the valley for the countdown and the mayhem that followed.
 

This new year is starting out quite well. We had a strange lesson with Vinícios this week. When we first started teaching him, he was only 17 years old, and when he gained the testimony and desire to be baptized, his mom didn't approve. He recently turned 18, and has started to question his testimony, but after reading a scripture with him about agency, he looked to us and said, "Ok, I want to be baptized. How about tomorrow?"  We have planned the baptism for this coming Saturday!  The ward is very excited that this day is finally coming!
 

The work here is really starting to pick up. Despite last month's trials and disappointments for us and our district, we kept working hard. And now the baptisms are coming, the families are returning to the truth, and miracles are beginning to happen. It's such a blessing and a confirmed truth that after the trial of faith, the Lord rewards us with the righteous desires of our hearts!
 

Tenha uma boa semana, e bom trabalho!
 

Vos Amo,
 

Élder Alexandre Tiago Hamilton

 

 

 

 

Vamos Aperfeiçoar

Oi oi oi!

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! My Christmas was great: lunch with a big part member/non member/inactive member family, an awesome Skype with my family (vos amo), some contacts, a lesson with a drunk family, and some overeating with some members.

 

Today is a busy day with limited email time (working with the mission office to get permission to move).  It's great being a missionary and inviting people to start the next year strong and make goals to more fully follow Christ in their lives. I certainly want that for myself. I'm planning for a year of aperfeiçoamento - a year of improving as much as I possibly can. Overall that is our purpose here in this life; to learn and become as much as we can like the perfect being, our Father in Heaven. It's my prayer that we all set goals and prepare ourselves to "aperfeiçoar".

 

Feliz Natal e um bom Novo Ano!!

 

Élder Hamilton

Missionário de A Igreja De Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Últimos Dias

Ala Barreto - Missão Brasil Rio De Janeiro

Olá gente!

I have a new companion. His name is Élder Fernández. He is from Chile and this will be his last transfer. And he is EXACTLY 3 years more than me! We will have quite the party on February 1st. He is a great missionary and I am learning so much from him. At the beginning of the transfer, I was missing Élder Medeiros (which I probably always will) and was a little annoyed with the change in work style, but I have quickly gained an appreciation and am so grateful to have him as a companion and look forward to the miracles ahead.

 

Natal (Christmas) sure is different on the mission. A little less candy, a lot more walking, and somehow, a lot more soda. It's weird not to be making rocky road and to be singing Christmas songs in a different language. But I couldn't ask for a better Christmas season. The opportunity to share the gift of the Gospel this time of year is so special and we have met many people this time of year who need to know the source of this light.

This week I was blessed with an opportunity that I've been waiting for since the second day in Brasil, although I never anticipated it would unfold the way it did. Happily, I can finally say that Kauã dos Santos is a baptized and confirmed member of the Church. It was a great gift to be able to participate in these ordinances. Both of those experiences helped me realize the true meaning of Natal.  It is not found under a tree or inside a box. It is found when following the great and straight path of our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness.

Feliz Natal!!

Vos amo, 

Élder Hamilton

Foto 1 - With Eduardo and Maria Helenahe

Foto 2 - Me and Kauã

Foto 3 - We fount this beautiful Christmas Tree and daughter of God

 

 

Compartilhe-o!

Oi gente,

After 23 weeks of "training", 12 weeks in Colorado and 11 in Rio, I can officially say that I am not a greeny!! I will stay here in Barreto, but will have a new companion. His name is Elder Fernández and I will meet him tomorrow to start the 7 week transfer.

 

This week we had zone conference. It was an incredible conference with great instruction and stories from Presidente Lima, training from the mission leaders, getting called up to share my testimony, and an incredible church video that made me weep. That was all the great part of the conference.  My companion and were talking to Elder Fontes, the missionary that I replaced, during the lunch at the conference. He is a zone leader and  an incredible missionary who I have gotten to know pretty well. Just as we sat down to eat, Elder Fontes collapsed.  We now know that he has a genetic brain problem that manifest itself for the first time with a massive hemorrage, and right now he is in the hospital in a coma. Please pray for Elder Fontes. He certainly needs a miracle right now.  The experience including telling his former converts about it has certainly been humbling. It makes me so grateful that I am blessed with the desire to do this great work and the health that makes to capable.

 

I gave a talk yesterday in sacrament meeting and talked about how this holiday season is the perfect time to share the best gift we have to offer; the love of the Lord and His gospel. Hearts are changing, ears are opening. Don't be afraid to share the light you have with others. You may just help in the making of the best christmas for a child or two of God.

Feliz Natal!

 

Élder Hamilton

Missionário de A Igreja De Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Últimos Dias

Ala Barreto - Missão Brasil Rio De Janeiro

 

 

 

A Vontade Do Senhor

Oi,

 

I heard that Morgan Freeman died last week. I will miss his movies.

 

Today is a busy day and I don't have a whole lot to say, so I'll keep this one short. Elder Medeiros and I made great plans for the week and worked really hard to accomplish our goals. Despite our efforts, we had disappointment after disapointment. Baptisms dropping, missionaries in the hospital, no one being home/flaking on commitments, bosses dying... just weird stuff. The missionaries of our zone have been questioning what we could have done better and the more we've thought about this, we've realized that we didn't miss anything. We've done the work we have been called to do and after all of that, the results will be according to the will and timing of the Lord. While in some ways accepting His will has been hard this week, I have no doubt that it is for the best. I know that I can always trust in our Heavenly Father's great plan that will ultimately result in true joy and great blessings.

 

"E, indo um pouco mais para diante, prostrou-se sobre o seu rosto, orando e dizendo: Meu Pai, se é possível, passe de mim este cálice: Todavia, não seja como eu quero, mas como tu queres." (Mateus 26:39)

 

Oh, and here is a picture I shot of a macocinho. Até mais! 

 

Élder Hamilton

Missionário de A Igreja De Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Últimos Dias

Ala Barreto - Missão Brasil Rio De Janeiro

Bençãos na Frente

Oi gente,

 

Flamengo won O Copo de Brasil (The Cup of Brazil)! I'm so proud of my team! (they have been my team even before arriving here).  Bittersweetly we didn't watch the game on Thursday, but at around midnight were woken by the victory celebrations in the street below, a lovely mixture of shouting, fireworks, gunshots, and music. It was quite the party!

 

I hit the 6 month mark on Friday!!  The mission spoiled me with a mission tour. Elder Eduardo Gavarret of the area presidency of the Seventy came for the tour and we heard great discourses from him, his wife, and Presidente and Sister Lima. It was an incredible mission tour and I have made goals to apply their teachings to my work. I also got to see Elder Braun!! Elder Steven Braun was one of my neighbors at BYU.  It was great to catch up with him.

It was another intense week work-wise preparing people for baptism. We had some great lessons with Vinicios and he has been working hard to get permission from his mom. It's been incredible for me to the see the conviction he has to be baptized and learn about the gospel and to see the change and joy the gospel has brought into his life. We had a baptismal interview with him that he passed with flying colors, but... we had plans to talk to his mom, and someway, somehow, she left two days early for the States. Luckily hope is not lost!  We have made contact with his dad who happens to be awesome! We explained the situation to him and he understood clearly and agreed that Vinicios should be baptized! So now we will  work on getting permission for Vinicios' dad to sign.

 

I wish I had more time for these letters. The life of a missionary is so exciting and full of inspirational experiences. As a missionary my understanding of service has greatly increased.  I know that when we serve those around us, we are serving God. As we more fully learn to love and serve our Heavenly Father, he will provide us with the blessings that he has for us. These blessings might not come  in the way we expect or initially desire, but our Father In Heaven knows us perfectly and will provide exactly what we need.

 

Até mais!

 

Élder Hamilton

Missionário de A Igreja De Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Últimos Dias

Ala Barreto - Missão Brasil Rio De Janeiro