Hi:
Such a great week! Absolutely incredible! The Lord has shed so many blessings on us these few months that we have been here. It was not easy in beginning, but as President Oliveira said, it seems that we have "passed the storm" haha. I love serving in Maio, I see the hand of the Lord every single day. He lives and He works with us through His Holy Spirit. There is nothing more satisfying than to act as an instrument in the Lord’s hands and see watch as the Spirit carries our message to the hearts of these people.
Our members and recent converts are better than ever. They have created such a strong bond and friendship between one another. Even though they are few, they all have the firm hope that the church will grow and it will never fall, it is an amazing thing.
Kakaka has been working with us more than ever this week, he gave us like 10 new references and he came out with us to contact all of them. He has NO fear to share the gospel with others. He really understands the importance of this Gospel of Salvation, and he wants all to partake of the delicious fruit. We are teaching like 6 of his friends and we marked another 5 people yesterday. He's so awesome I love him. We did a little study with us and he said "I just want to know how I can have even more faith and be stronger." We read Helaman 3:35 about praying and fasting and also about feasting on the word of Christ instead of just reading. Kakaka has read up until like Alma 40, but now we challenge him to ponder, pray and seek revelation when he reads. Love him!
We have continued to give classes to help people prepare to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. It’s been a huge success and now we have members and investigators that are completely ready, just depending on when a stake representative comes to confer the priesthood.
This week we had the baptism of Anastacio. When we first met him he was a rugged fisherman, but he has truly changed his life and is ready to dedicate it to become a disciple of Christ. Anastacio is so happy now! There were so many people that came to watch the baptism that we had to take 2 cars to get everyone to the beach. Usually we only use 1 car. It was such an incredible experience. On top of that, our 3 planned baptisms for this Saturday all arrived to watch the baptism and they loved it.
One of our baptisms for this week is named Filisberto. He has a ton of desire to change his life and follow this church. He has received various spiritual witnesses and KNOWS these things are true. However, after the baptism we taught him and asked him how he was feeling about baptism for this week and he said he didn’t know. That wasn’t like him to say that. But then he went on to say that he hadn’t told his mom, who had raised him and baptized him. He was very indecisive. However, in that the very moment, the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance a scripture in Matthew 19:29 that basically says, all those that leave their houses, families, parents, brothers for the love of Christ will inherit eternal life. The scripture fit perfectly for his situation. He read it and just sat there and pondered. He said that sometimes to reach eternal life we have sacrifice. We testified of this scripture and asked him what he felt he needed to do, he said "be baptized". We invited to be baptized this week and he accepted. He said after reading that verse he felt much more confident and firm in his decision. We can try and convince people with our worldly knowledge and persuasive words, but only the Words of Christ can bring the Spirit to testify to their hearts.
Church was incredible. We had 21 people and one of our recent converts Pedro gave the first talk about faith, he did such an awesome job, I love him so much. After church, 2 of our recent converts, Pedro and Zeze received the Melchizedek priesthood and Kakaka and Anastacio received the Aaronic priesthood in the office of a Priest. The Kingdom of God is being established and the foundation has been laid. It’s incredible to have been here since the absolute start and having seen such progress. I love the work.
Love,
Elder Rice
D&C 4:2
"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." (D&C 4:2)
Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
HEY!
We had transfers last night and I will be staying here with Elder Christensen on the island of Maio. It is the greatest blessing, I have got to know some absolutely incredible people here, It’s going to be rough the day I have to leave. This transfer should be huge success, we have some INCREDIBLE people that we are teaching and preparing for baptism. Good news though, with transfers, President Oliveira has decided to send Sisters to Maio. We will no longer have to be alone, haha. Someone will actually be able to help us with sacrament talks, the piano, teaching Gospel Principles and other stuff. I really do love doing all of those things anyway though. The sisters should get here on Friday, the work is going to EXPLODE! It has already started but it’s just going to get so much better!
We had a great family night at our recent converts house Kakaka. He bought cake and cookies and juice and we had a great message. One of Kakaka's favorite principles of the Gospel is repentance. He lived a rough life, drugs, girls, poverty and he changed it all to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. He is so happy now. He bears a powerful testimony of repentance. We played some games and it was awesome.
We have been giving a preparatory class to receive the Melchizedek priesthood to our recent converts, members and even investigators. To make a branch and to be able to give out callings and help the work progress we need 6 Melchizedek priesthood men and 20 members. We should have this by the end of the transfer. That is our goal.
Kakaka is so incredible. he has been sharing the gospel with all of his friends and has been giving us so many references. He even scheduled an appointment for us to come over to his house and teach his 2 friends, Gilson and Veloso. Kakaka had already talked to them before about the church so their hearts were already opened to hear and accept our message. It was a great lesson and now both of these young men have a lot of desire to change their lives. Awesome!
We have been training Pedro (Recent convert) to bless the sacrament. We sat down with him and had him read it so we could help him pronounce all of the words. On the last Sunday it took him about 7 tries, this Sunday he got it on the first time! So cool. Not only that but his friend Anastacio is getting baptized this week, so we practiced with Pedro how to hold the person, memorize the baptismal prayer and how to baptize. He did it perfectly, it was so cool.
Then there is Filisberto and Ze Mario, they are references of another member named Admilson. They came to a film night we had in the church on Saturday. They LOVED it. Yesterday we talked to Filisberto and he said he just felt that Joseph Smith was a prophet. he said he even cried. He said that he lived life without faith, but after talking to us and watching the film he says he has gained faith. We are ordained to teach by the Spirit, to help others come unto Christ and gain and exercise their faith to repentance. I love my call.
Sunday was awesome! We had a fantastic meeting and we had 18 people. Of those 18 people were 6 members/recent converts/investigators that came in a white shirts and ties. These people are changing, repenting and becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s a blessing to have been here from the beginning and see the incredible progress the Lord has brought about this people.
Joseph Smith was prophet, the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth with the power and authority and gospel that permits that we return to our Heavenly Father. Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet that reveals the Gospel in its fullness in these latter days.
Love,
Elder Rice
We had transfers last night and I will be staying here with Elder Christensen on the island of Maio. It is the greatest blessing, I have got to know some absolutely incredible people here, It’s going to be rough the day I have to leave. This transfer should be huge success, we have some INCREDIBLE people that we are teaching and preparing for baptism. Good news though, with transfers, President Oliveira has decided to send Sisters to Maio. We will no longer have to be alone, haha. Someone will actually be able to help us with sacrament talks, the piano, teaching Gospel Principles and other stuff. I really do love doing all of those things anyway though. The sisters should get here on Friday, the work is going to EXPLODE! It has already started but it’s just going to get so much better!
We had a great family night at our recent converts house Kakaka. He bought cake and cookies and juice and we had a great message. One of Kakaka's favorite principles of the Gospel is repentance. He lived a rough life, drugs, girls, poverty and he changed it all to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. He is so happy now. He bears a powerful testimony of repentance. We played some games and it was awesome.
We have been giving a preparatory class to receive the Melchizedek priesthood to our recent converts, members and even investigators. To make a branch and to be able to give out callings and help the work progress we need 6 Melchizedek priesthood men and 20 members. We should have this by the end of the transfer. That is our goal.
Kakaka is so incredible. he has been sharing the gospel with all of his friends and has been giving us so many references. He even scheduled an appointment for us to come over to his house and teach his 2 friends, Gilson and Veloso. Kakaka had already talked to them before about the church so their hearts were already opened to hear and accept our message. It was a great lesson and now both of these young men have a lot of desire to change their lives. Awesome!
We have been training Pedro (Recent convert) to bless the sacrament. We sat down with him and had him read it so we could help him pronounce all of the words. On the last Sunday it took him about 7 tries, this Sunday he got it on the first time! So cool. Not only that but his friend Anastacio is getting baptized this week, so we practiced with Pedro how to hold the person, memorize the baptismal prayer and how to baptize. He did it perfectly, it was so cool.
Then there is Filisberto and Ze Mario, they are references of another member named Admilson. They came to a film night we had in the church on Saturday. They LOVED it. Yesterday we talked to Filisberto and he said he just felt that Joseph Smith was a prophet. he said he even cried. He said that he lived life without faith, but after talking to us and watching the film he says he has gained faith. We are ordained to teach by the Spirit, to help others come unto Christ and gain and exercise their faith to repentance. I love my call.
Sunday was awesome! We had a fantastic meeting and we had 18 people. Of those 18 people were 6 members/recent converts/investigators that came in a white shirts and ties. These people are changing, repenting and becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s a blessing to have been here from the beginning and see the incredible progress the Lord has brought about this people.
Joseph Smith was prophet, the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth with the power and authority and gospel that permits that we return to our Heavenly Father. Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet that reveals the Gospel in its fullness in these latter days.
Love,
Elder Rice
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
HEY,
Another incredible week! We started out on Monday having a family night at Zeze's house (recent convert). We invited all of the members and a few investigators. We had Maruca, Kakaka, Pedro, Zeze, and Julio, the 5 strongest members in the church here in Maio. They all have such incredible testimonies, and some of them haven’t even been baptized yet. We discussed about the blessings of the Gospel in our life and how its important to share with others. They all had some really good commentary. We planned another family night on Friday in Maruca's house, and we challenged them all to bring at least 1 friend. Not all of them managed to bring a friend, but a few of them did and it was a huge success. They have all developed such a strong friendship one with another. I know that the church here in Maio will never fall, these guys are the base and the work will only continue to grow.
This week we had the baptism of Kakaka, and it was incredible. Kakaka, has not had an easy life, he basically lived on the street and he was far from the Lord, but we found him in the most opurtune moment to bring him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it changed his life. He couldn’t stop smiling, and now he is more excited than ever to share the gospel with others.
On Sunday we had an incredible meeting. There were 19 people there. And every single one is progressing and preparing for baptism. So many doors have opened to the work. The here. After church on sunday, we had a correlation meeting and we invited a few investigators and all the members to come participate. In the meeting we talked about our investigators and discussed with all of them how we could help these people prepare for baptism and be more integrated into the church. Then, with the 6 people we had there we made Home Teaching partners to go and visit our investigators. It was something amazing that I will never forget. It was as if we were in a fully functioning ward. I love Maio,
I love working here and I love establishing the Kingdom of God. The Lord has been so merciful with us, it is the greatest joy to be an instrument in His hands.
Love,
Elder Rice
Another incredible week! We started out on Monday having a family night at Zeze's house (recent convert). We invited all of the members and a few investigators. We had Maruca, Kakaka, Pedro, Zeze, and Julio, the 5 strongest members in the church here in Maio. They all have such incredible testimonies, and some of them haven’t even been baptized yet. We discussed about the blessings of the Gospel in our life and how its important to share with others. They all had some really good commentary. We planned another family night on Friday in Maruca's house, and we challenged them all to bring at least 1 friend. Not all of them managed to bring a friend, but a few of them did and it was a huge success. They have all developed such a strong friendship one with another. I know that the church here in Maio will never fall, these guys are the base and the work will only continue to grow.
This week we had the baptism of Kakaka, and it was incredible. Kakaka, has not had an easy life, he basically lived on the street and he was far from the Lord, but we found him in the most opurtune moment to bring him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it changed his life. He couldn’t stop smiling, and now he is more excited than ever to share the gospel with others.
On Sunday we had an incredible meeting. There were 19 people there. And every single one is progressing and preparing for baptism. So many doors have opened to the work. The here. After church on sunday, we had a correlation meeting and we invited a few investigators and all the members to come participate. In the meeting we talked about our investigators and discussed with all of them how we could help these people prepare for baptism and be more integrated into the church. Then, with the 6 people we had there we made Home Teaching partners to go and visit our investigators. It was something amazing that I will never forget. It was as if we were in a fully functioning ward. I love Maio,
I love working here and I love establishing the Kingdom of God. The Lord has been so merciful with us, it is the greatest joy to be an instrument in His hands.
Love,
Elder Rice
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
HEY!
My heart is just so full of joy. This was the best week of my mission and possibly my life. The Lord has worked SO many miracles among us these last few days and this week. I can’t even begin to describe with words how I feel, or what i have seen, but I will sure try.
In the beginning of the week we were pretty down because our planned baptism did not come to church and he wouldn’t be able to be baptized this week. We need desperately members of this church to help the work be performed. We fasted and prayed that the Lord would help us find some SOMEONE to be baptized and confirmed into this church. We searched until finally we realized how blind we were to one of our most prepared investigators that came to church this last week. His name is Pedro and he has a fire. He LOVES the church and wants so desperately to change his life. We sat him down on Thursday and told him the progress he has made and repentance he has done, and we invited him to be baptized on Saturday. He accepted without hesitation, he said ''Any time and any day I will be baptized''. The Spirit has truly touched him as it touched us.
We proceeded with his baptism on Saturday and it was BEAUTIFUL. As we walked to the waters he said: ''It’s going to be a new life''. He clenched on to Elder Christensen and I and wouldn’t let go. We went out to the beach and I had the privilege to baptize him. He even brought one of his friends, Jacinto who seemed to be mesmerized by the whole thing. We talked to Jacinto yesterday and he just said he felt something so powerful in him and he started to cry, we explained this to be the Spirit, testifying of truth. It was incredible.
This week we received some visitors from Praia, President Teixera (stake president), Neia (his wife) and President Leonel (counselor). With them they brought the first missionary of Maio, who was baptized in Praia. His name is Armando and he will be our group leader, because until now the group leader was us. This will help out SO much!!!
Maruka is stronger than ever. He is not even baptized (waiting for a document to continue with the marriage), and he shares the gospel with everyone, gives us references, teaches with us and bears an incredible testimony. His testimony is a lot stronger than many members of the church, it’s super impressive. We also have Kakaka, who is incredible. He is about 28 and he also has a fire to share the gospel. We asked for some references and he came immediately with us to contact them. We let him do the contact and it was incredible. He bore testimony with such sincerity and it opened the doors for so many new investigators that usually would have rejected us, it was the most incredible experience.
To top off the week we had the MOST incredible sacrament meeting I have ever had in my life. We decided to do a testimony meeting, even though there are only few members of the church here in Maio. Many of our investigators went up and bore incredible testimonies of how their life has changed and how they are so happy because of the restored gospel. My heart was just so full of love and joy. I couldn’t stop thanking the Lord for the incredible progress each of the men had made. The awesome thing is that just about all of our investigators are Melchizedek priesthood age men. Pedro received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday, Zeze passed the sacrament. This week Kakaka will be baptized and will also receive the Aaronic priesthood and we are starting a class twice a week to prepare our investigators and members to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. The work is exploding. The Lord is blessing us so much. It is the biggest joy and pleasure to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I feel the presence of the Spirit every day and by teaching through the Spirit these men have been truly converted. I can’t even begin to tell all of the stories and miracles we have seen, they are just too numerous.
I have learned that no matter what the situation, no matter how hard our how much suffering there is, the Lord is in charge. If we do EVERYTHING that we possibly can to do the Lord’s will, being obedient, serving, magnifying our office, he will never fail us. Be patient, the Lord has prepared the way and he will not let us fail.
Love,
Elder Rice
My heart is just so full of joy. This was the best week of my mission and possibly my life. The Lord has worked SO many miracles among us these last few days and this week. I can’t even begin to describe with words how I feel, or what i have seen, but I will sure try.
In the beginning of the week we were pretty down because our planned baptism did not come to church and he wouldn’t be able to be baptized this week. We need desperately members of this church to help the work be performed. We fasted and prayed that the Lord would help us find some SOMEONE to be baptized and confirmed into this church. We searched until finally we realized how blind we were to one of our most prepared investigators that came to church this last week. His name is Pedro and he has a fire. He LOVES the church and wants so desperately to change his life. We sat him down on Thursday and told him the progress he has made and repentance he has done, and we invited him to be baptized on Saturday. He accepted without hesitation, he said ''Any time and any day I will be baptized''. The Spirit has truly touched him as it touched us.
We proceeded with his baptism on Saturday and it was BEAUTIFUL. As we walked to the waters he said: ''It’s going to be a new life''. He clenched on to Elder Christensen and I and wouldn’t let go. We went out to the beach and I had the privilege to baptize him. He even brought one of his friends, Jacinto who seemed to be mesmerized by the whole thing. We talked to Jacinto yesterday and he just said he felt something so powerful in him and he started to cry, we explained this to be the Spirit, testifying of truth. It was incredible.
This week we received some visitors from Praia, President Teixera (stake president), Neia (his wife) and President Leonel (counselor). With them they brought the first missionary of Maio, who was baptized in Praia. His name is Armando and he will be our group leader, because until now the group leader was us. This will help out SO much!!!
Maruka is stronger than ever. He is not even baptized (waiting for a document to continue with the marriage), and he shares the gospel with everyone, gives us references, teaches with us and bears an incredible testimony. His testimony is a lot stronger than many members of the church, it’s super impressive. We also have Kakaka, who is incredible. He is about 28 and he also has a fire to share the gospel. We asked for some references and he came immediately with us to contact them. We let him do the contact and it was incredible. He bore testimony with such sincerity and it opened the doors for so many new investigators that usually would have rejected us, it was the most incredible experience.
To top off the week we had the MOST incredible sacrament meeting I have ever had in my life. We decided to do a testimony meeting, even though there are only few members of the church here in Maio. Many of our investigators went up and bore incredible testimonies of how their life has changed and how they are so happy because of the restored gospel. My heart was just so full of love and joy. I couldn’t stop thanking the Lord for the incredible progress each of the men had made. The awesome thing is that just about all of our investigators are Melchizedek priesthood age men. Pedro received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday, Zeze passed the sacrament. This week Kakaka will be baptized and will also receive the Aaronic priesthood and we are starting a class twice a week to prepare our investigators and members to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. The work is exploding. The Lord is blessing us so much. It is the biggest joy and pleasure to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I feel the presence of the Spirit every day and by teaching through the Spirit these men have been truly converted. I can’t even begin to tell all of the stories and miracles we have seen, they are just too numerous.
I have learned that no matter what the situation, no matter how hard our how much suffering there is, the Lord is in charge. If we do EVERYTHING that we possibly can to do the Lord’s will, being obedient, serving, magnifying our office, he will never fail us. Be patient, the Lord has prepared the way and he will not let us fail.
Love,
Elder Rice
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