Monday August 4th, 2014

Wow that sounds like a pretty fun week. I really enjoyed the pictures. It was super cool to see the mountians and I'm impressed courtney can move like that. Sounds like you all are hiking a ton of mountians. Did you take pictures of court's dorm? That's sweet she has a super nice dorm. DId she get her liscence yet? That might be important in a little bit.

So as for this week I don't really remember much of what happened. We have 3 families that we are teaching and basically they are the only people we visited this week. We spent a lot of time visiting the boy that was baptized saturday. He doesnt technically live in the ward boundries but he lives closer to our chapel so we got permission from every one to go teach him and all that. We usually loose 2 hours of our day going there and coming back and about 10 reais per day to visit him but it was totally worth it. SO his brother is in the mission about 2 months and when his brother left he gave him a book of mormon. He read it every once in a while and decided one day to go to church. We talked to him and got his number but tried to call him during the week to visit him and couldnt get ahold of him so the miracle was that he showed up on sunday again and we got better information about where he lived and when and visited him that night. Taught him about the restoration and invited him to pray. Tuesday challenged him to be baptized and gave him the book of mormon. Wednesday he had prayed and recieved a response and wanted to be baptized saturday. Talked to his mom and she wanted him to wait more. So we moved the baptism to the 2nd and arranged the details so that his mom could be there too. (she works every day all day until about 9 at night) Anyways so we sent an email to his brother in the mission asking him to make a video to be passed at the baptism....so here is the better part, his president gave him permission to watch the baptism! So we set up a skype link at the church and after working it all out he had to stay in the roon where the baptism would happen and we took Yuri (the boy who was baptized) (when it was time to go to the font) to that room and he walked in and say that his brother was on the computer, he just started crying like crazy, then his mom enters that room and sees her son on the skype. The brother missionary then bore testimony about the church and everything and it was a super spritual experience. The Spirit filled the room and was slowly flooding out into the hallway. It was a baptism that I will never forget. It was truly a wonderful experience.

Yuri truely has a testimony super strong and the first thursday we were with him he left with us on that day to go bear testimony to other people. He bore such a powerful testimony in the house of one of our investigators and he is helping so much with another that we are trying to mark a date with her for this week. She has a testimony just as strong as him but for some reason she feels she isn't ready. These tqo young adults are such strong witnesses of praying and recieveing an answer in response to your prayers. These two are so special and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have met them and helped them along. There is no better feeling than helping people come to the gospel. No better joy, no better relief. You have nothing more powerful than that. It says so in D&C 19 in the scripture mastery. it is true. I hope next week that we can say that Ana Paula was baptized and that everything went well. I'm so very grateful for this opportunity to be here and to help so many people come to the gospel and to share this grat gift with them.

Yesterday Yuri prepared a lesson that he wanted to share with Ana Paula and its the following:

And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.

(! nephi 8:12) and he then told her that, that is what he felt and he knows thats what she feels. This is a principle for everyone and there is a moment in all of our lives we feel this. And it should be more often. At least every sunday when we take the sacrament. No man is content with having the gospel to himself, he wants to run and share it with the whole world. Above all our greatest calling our greatest responsibility is to share the Gosepl (Joseph Smith PMG Chapter 1)

I Love you all and miss you all so much and hope that this story inspires you and gives you a greater desire to share the gospel.

Love,

Elder Simonsen

Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. D&C 84:85