Elder Rob Calcote
Elder Rob Calcote Young
men in Uganda start playing soccer as small boys, using tightly bound branches
for a ball. Ever since he was very young, Dennis had a gift for the sport, and
his high school gave him a scholarship to play for their team. After he
completed high school, a professional team offered him pay, room, and board. It
was a dream come true, but Dennis knew this would likely interfere with his
plans to go on a mission later in the year.
Dennis’s desire to do what his Heavenly Father wanted him to do was so strong
that he did not even want to be tempted to remain on the team when the time
would arrive for him to serve a mission. Many people questioned his choice, but
Dennis is certain he made the right decision—for himself and others. “My two
little brothers and my little sister were just baptized,” he says. “I never
thought my sister would hear the gospel. When I see God doing miracles in my
family, it gives me a bright hope for my future.”
In Dennis’s ward the young men
study Preach
My Gospel each week. They have become like a team, working closely with
the full-time missionaries and bringing friends to Sunday meetings and other
activities, including basketball and soccer games during the week. The priests
have baptized friends and others they helped teach with the missionaries. Over
several years, this team of young men has strengthened the whole ward, and four
of them, including Dennis, received calls to the Kenya Nairobi Mission.
Elder Matthew
Willardson
Guatemala City South Mission 8-31-2013
Elder Matt
Willardson
was able to participate in
some special teaching experiences last month with his mission president and
with Elder James B. Martino, president of the Central America Area. Here is Matt’s report…
Oh man was this the best week ever. Do
you remember what I said last week about how Elder Martino MIGHT come to our
area to teach lessons with us in member’s houses? On Tuesday, the APs call us
and let us know we are the lucky winners of an evening with Elder Martino and
President Stay! My comp and I started to
run around our area making sure everything was in order for the evening. We had
to check with the investigators and the members. At 6:45 we met up with Elder Martino and
President Stay at the church. We hopped in their car and drove to the cita at
7. We taught Rudy Trieles about baptism in the house of our comedor, the
Familia Garcia. And it was easily the most spiritual lesson I have ever been a
part of in my mission. Hermano and Hermana Garcia and three of their kids,
President Stay, Elder Martino, and my comp and I were all in the Garcia house
ready for a Noche De Hogar (FHE). We read in Alma 7 about the blessings we
receive after baptism, and asked a lot of questions about how he would feel to
have all of those blessings in his life. He told us: "I’ve always wanted
to be a part of a church, but I’ve never had that example in my life to follow.
I feel so blessed to be able to hear the gospel, because there are a lot of
people who die without hearing it and they can’t receive the blessings." After hearing incredibly powerful testimonies
from Elder Martino and President Stay, and the Familia Garcia, Rudy accepted a
fecha (baptismal date) for the 16th of March!
We then headed over to the
house of the Familia Hernandez-Cox, where we taught the Familia Valdez about
our purpose on the earth. And then Elder Martino just took over the lesson,
punching them in the mouth with the Spirit. We read about half of 1 Nefi 8 with
pauses almost every verse to apply it in our lives and make sure we understood
what was going on in the vision. The Spirit, working through Elder Martino,
helped this family have interest in the gospel because he testified that the
whole purpose of life is to partake of the fruit of eternal life and give of it
to our loved ones, especially our children.
And then to cap off the lesson, Hermana Hernandez gave the most powerful
invitation to come to church that I have ever seen. She gave an incredibly
simple, but powerful testimony to the Valdez, and invited them to come to
church.
It is incredible how much more effective the work is when the members are an active part in the conversion process. The members are the ones who truly amaze the investigators with their testimonies. It will take a lot more planning and hard work to have these effective lessons, but we will bring so many more children of God to His fold if we do so. I want you guys to feel the incredible Spirit that comes from participating in each phase of the work too, because you will feel happy as you do so. Invite some of the neighbors or some friends to the next FHE you have, and tell the missionaries to come over and teach a lesson. It’s hard, and not everyone is going to say yes, but it is the most effective way for our friends to know what we know and feel the happiness that we feel. And don’t forget to let me know how it went!
Elder Adam Martin
Brazil São
Paulo
Elder Adam Martin is enjoying his new area: He writes:"I have
a surprise for this week! Baptisms! we had 4 this last week from nowhere. This
family we were teaching just suddenly decided they wanted to be baptized
Sunday. We called my district leader and he left after his sacrament meeting to
interview them. we had the baptism last night. An easter miracle!"
This was Elder Martin's second week in the area. His new companion is
Elder N. Rodrigues. Easter is celebrated a bit differently in
Brazil. He explains, "Easter (Pascoa) in Brasil is basically a day
for brasilian kids eat chocolate. They don't have the tradition of hiding easter
eggs. I do miss that tradition. However, perhaps next year we can do that
again. [Elder Martin will be home for next Easter.] They make easter eggs out
of chocolate that are quite good.. . [The] sisters in the ward gave us lots of
chocolate. Our Easter lunch was a brasilian cookout. The beef here is not
exactly a rib eye steak, but it was very good." Apparently the work
is going well in his new area. He says, "Our teaching group is
growing. We should have a bunch more of baptisms these next few weeks. This
area is great. There are many mountains to climb (literally) but all the same
the field is white and ready for harvest." Like so many missions,
The Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos mission is going to be changed due to the large
influx of missionaries into the mission field and the addition of a new
mission. Come July first Elder Martin may be in a new mission with a new
mission president. Elder Martin is excited for General Conference.
He has always loved Conference Sunday (mostly because he watched
conference in his PJs after eating a leisurely breakfast). Now he is
excited to hear the words of the prophets and share the experience with his
investigators. We are proud of Elder A. Martin
