Hi Everyone!
Last week it was raining really hard, and a lady came and knocked on our door and said “there´s an animal here, but I have to leave, can you guys take care of it?” And there in our lobby was a cockatiel on the ground. So I picked him up and took care of him for a while, and we gave him to our neighbor. (Did you know I LOVE birds? I do!)
Also the power in the neighborhood went out all that day and we had to go teach people in the dark. Fun!
My feet and legs have been feeling lots better. The new shoes I got are helping but I think they’re finally just getting used to being used so much. And the Lord is blessing us too.
So a member brought her friend to church a couple of weeks ago. He liked church so much that the next week he came by himself and brought a friend. So we taught him the first lesson on Wednesday and he accepted the challenge to be baptized on the 5th of March, saying he really wanted to be baptized. Then we were talking to our district leader and thinking about this guy, and praying, and we decided to ask him to be baptized this Sunday.
So the next day we went to teach him, and the lesson started out rough, like he had tons of weird questions about speaking in tongues and he was arguing with us about the Fall of Adam and Eve, but then we started teaching him about the Gospel of Christ, and repentance. And the Spirit was so strong, and the way the lesson went led perfectly to
the invitation to be baptized. We talked about how he already went to church, liked it a lot, and we knew he was ready to repent and enter God´s fold. Then I said “We, as representatives of Jesus Christ, have the ability to teach people and know when they´re ready to start on this path. So, we want to invite you to be baptized this Sunday.” Complete silence. Then he started crying. It was like, boom, the Spirit just hit him. “Antonio, will you be baptized this Sunday?” And he said “I will.” Then he kept crying. After a couple of seconds, he bowed his head and started saying a prayer, super powerful, saying he would do whatever God asked him to. Then at that point we were all
crying, and it was just amazing. We did it. We followed the Spirit, and were bold. And it paid off. We ended this transfer with a baptism. It really is God that does all this work. We are supposed to just be his mouthpiece. It´s really remarkable. This work is amazing. I love being a missionary.
the invitation to be baptized. We talked about how he already went to church, liked it a lot, and we knew he was ready to repent and enter God´s fold. Then I said “We, as representatives of Jesus Christ, have the ability to teach people and know when they´re ready to start on this path. So, we want to invite you to be baptized this Sunday.” Complete silence. Then he started crying. It was like, boom, the Spirit just hit him. “Antonio, will you be baptized this Sunday?” And he said “I will.” Then he kept crying. After a couple of seconds, he bowed his head and started saying a prayer, super powerful, saying he would do whatever God asked him to. Then at that point we were all
crying, and it was just amazing. We did it. We followed the Spirit, and were bold. And it paid off. We ended this transfer with a baptism. It really is God that does all this work. We are supposed to just be his mouthpiece. It´s really remarkable. This work is amazing. I love being a missionary.
Also, almost everyone in my zone is getting whitewashed. That means they´re transferring both members of a companionship at the same time and putting brand-new missionaries. This almost NEVER happens. The assistents to the president called last night and told Sister K. she was getting transferred, and then said “We´ll call Sister
Westenhaver later.” So I thought, great, I´m gonna stay here and train. But then they called and said “Sister Westenhaver you´re being transferred.” And we almost didn´t believe it.
Westenhaver later.” So I thought, great, I´m gonna stay here and train. But then they called and said “Sister Westenhaver you´re being transferred.” And we almost didn´t believe it.
So tomorrow our area is getting 2 new sisters and I will be going….To Juquitiba!!! All I know about this place is that it´s the most rural area of our mission, and it takes about 3 hours to get to meetings at the mission office. So thanks for the bird field guide,
Mom, it´ll definitely come in handy. We´ll see how this goes! Sister K. and I will stay in the same zone, so that´s fun! Also my new companion is ALSO American, which I can´t believe. Stay tuned to know how I´m doing out in the boonies next week.
Apparently people who pass through this area love it!!
Mom, it´ll definitely come in handy. We´ll see how this goes! Sister K. and I will stay in the same zone, so that´s fun! Also my new companion is ALSO American, which I can´t believe. Stay tuned to know how I´m doing out in the boonies next week.
Apparently people who pass through this area love it!!
I thought you’d like to see the pizza we had this week, It’s half cheese (they put green olives on it too, which I always take off) and half chocolate sauce with m&m’s. The entire crust is stuffed with chocolate sauce, too, so you get dessert built in to your pizza. It’s totally delicious!
This picture below is with me and my companion, Sister K. Also the two other missionaries who live in our apartment, Sister O.and Sister L. They’re very sweet and funny. If you notice, I’m the tallest person in this picture which is pretty funny since I’m only 5’5. People here always tell me I’m tall. Never had that happen before! Yes, I’m getting pretty tan, too. Everyone is the ward says “Nossa, você está ficando morena!” Which means “Dang you´re really tan now.”
Muito amor,
Sister Westenhaver
India in Brazil 