Amélia's Baptism! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

 Hi!! 

I can't believe it's already p-day again  Time needs to slow down  This week we had an exchange and zone conference where we gave a little training and interviews with Presidente and stake conference and a BAPTISM!!!! and today we have zone pday so this week has been insane 

Last week on Sunday we were leaving a member meal and were walking to the chapel when we walked past these three guys about our age on the street. I wasn't going to stop and talk to them because one of them was deeefinitely checking us out LOL! but! we walked past them and I could tell Sister Nielson was thinking about stopping and then all of a sudden Sister Nielson turned around and said to them "Oi! Vocês têm planos hoje à noite?" or "Hey! Do you guys have plans tonight?" And I about peed my pants laughing as I said under my breath "Sister it sounds like you just asked them out." and that one yucky guy realllly liked that. But then we started talking to them and explained that in 2 hours at the church building we were going to watch a session of general conference! Where our living prophet and 12 apostles were going to speak to us!! and 2 of the guys were not interested, including the yucky guy, but!! Samuel!! was interested and in that street contact he said he would be at the church building to watch. AND THEN!! 2 hours later he actually showed up at the church building and LOVED IT! Miracles. The members recieve him so well too. Since then, we've had two lessons with him, one where we taught about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ with a member, and then another on Saturday night where we taught about the doctrine of Christ also with a different member. Samuel is so cool. He knows the Bible well and as we teach he is able to quote verses and apply them to our lesson. He told us that he has never been so well recieved in a church before and that the Spirit is always so strong when we meet. As we were teaching the doctrine of Christ, we taught about baptism, and I felt strongly that we should read about the covenant of baptism in Mosiah 18:8-10. I opened to it and Sister Nielson said that she was also thinking of that same scripture. (The Spirit!!!) We read it and Sister Nielson asked Samuel himself "If this be the desire of your heart, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord?" His response was beautiful: "I have a mouth to confess, a heart to give, and there is nothing stopping me from being baptized." We invited him to be baptized, and now Samuel is preparing for his baptism on the 28th of October!!  Guys can we please take a second and appreciate the grandeur of this miracle? This is the Lord's work. He is preparing His people. And if you have the desire to serve God, "ye are called to the work"!!! (Dc 4:3) How amazing is that!!! We can all be instruments in the Lord's hands to help him with the most important work taking place on earth. And we can help people like Samuel who are ready for this gospel, who when they learn about it, will react like the people of Alma, "And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." (Mosiah 18:11)

Baptism members minister's 

This week Amélia was baptized  This lady is the cutest lady in the whole world. How she found the church is so crazy. Her whole life she has been going to different churches and never has found one that she felt she really belonged too. And then she received an ad for the Church of Jesus Christ on her Bible app she was using. And every time she still opens the app the same ad pops up. And then she went to work and all of her colleagues were talking bad about the church and all of the TV shows they had watched about the church. And she decided she had to learn about this church for herself!! She clicked on the ad and filled out a self reference that Sister Nielson and her last companion received. And she is ELEITA. She has accepted everything she has the strongest testimony and I have learned from her just as much and probably more than she has learned from us. SO MANY MEMBERS CAME TO THE BAPTISM. I have a goal to go to every baptism ever in my future ward's for the rest of my life. All the members came and brought food and showed her so much love. During the meeting, the relief society president spoke and welcomed her to relief society and invited Amelia's ministering sisters to come on the stand!!! That's how it should be every time!!! She had already designated ministering sisters and then they gave Amélia a hug on the way back to their seats. Ugh it was so good. Amélia was so happy 

This week, D&C 6 has kept coming up. And Sister Nielson and I have talked a lot about the importance of gathering. The Lord says to Oliver Cowdry "Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you." 

Whether it be gathering at home for family home evening, gathering to take the sacrament at church, gathering to worship at the temple, gathering with friends to do come follow me, or gathering at district council. When we gather in the Savior's name, He is among us. 

"The Spirit cannot be restrained from attending a gathering of holy people. If you hope to feel the Spirit, be with people with whom the Spirit can easily dwell... Choose to be with people and go to places where righteousness is found. Find your strength in numbers. Find good friends. Be good friends. Support one another wherever you are. Stand with holy people." (Elder Stevenson)

Don't forget to gather this week 

Sister Menden

Pics!

- last pday! Francesinhas!! 

- Halloween is Sister Nielson's favorite holiday and so we bought Halloween decorations and she started crying when we opened up the cutie pumpkins HAHA

- Sister Bulleigh and I did street contacts at Jardim de Morro!! and it literally just isn't real that that park and that view are just casually in our area. 

- Member meal with Irmã Iridan  and then also with one of my favorite family's ever 

- They have this dessert here that is so good and its called chocolate salami which doesn't sound good but IT IS. 

- Sisters of Zona Porto 

- We did whiteboard finding at that same park!! Soooo fun

- Our 93 year old Portuguese friend Duarte in his work shed 

- Amelia's baptism!!!