My week has been sooooooo amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better week!!! The miracles at this point are too many to
count! The first crazy thing that happened was I GOT TO MEET AND SERVE AN
APOSTLE!!!
Tuesday Neil L Anderson came. His grandson was just called on a mission so
he and his family came and asked the Brazilian Elders to show them around the
MTC. He had us teach him what MTC life
is like!!! It’s pretty crazy. I did a favor for an apostle of the Lord! Later that night we got to hear him give a
talk and it was amazing!!!
Also this week something neat and special
happened. It wasn’t really an answer to
one of my prayers but one of my teachers.
Here at the MTC your teacher’s pretend to be an investigator they taught
while on their mission. You get to teach them but you can only use Portuguese. They pretend they don’t know English. It can be hard. I was teaching my teacher Irmão Neilson and I
was teaching him about prayer and how God truly listens and answers our
prayers. After I was done he started to
get really emotional and then started to tell me how I just helped him answer
one of his prayers. Apparently he has
been praying and fasting to know if he should ask his girlfriend to marry
him. During my lesson he got his answer!!!
Apparently I helped someone get married
-- or not. I haven’t asked him if the
answer was yes or no yet.
That’s one thing that is amazing and blows my
mind about being a missionary, a Mormon, or a son of God. I’m not the greatest teacher or missionary -- especially
when it comes to teaching in Portuguese, but the neat thing is I don’t have to. I’m
not a perfect human being but again I don’t have to be. Alone I can’t do much as a missionary, but I don’t
have to. I don’t have to be a perfect
human being because the Savior was. He
makes up for all my imperfections. All I
have to do is try my best.
As a missionary I don’t need to be the best at speaking,
teaching, or anything. I just have to
try, put my faith in the Lord and He makes up for the rest! I know that’s true. I’ve already seen it happen with my fake
investigators! They’re returned
missionaries. They already know
everything I’m teaching but yet they are still able to learn something and have
their prayers answered. Why? Because the Holy Ghost truly teaches people --
not me. I know Heavenly Father listens
and answers our prayers. It might not be
when or how we want, but he answers them.
This Easter week has been a special one. Easter Sunday Morning we had the opportunity to hear from another of the Lord’s apostle’s: President Dieter F Uchtdorf. He shared the story of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and how he suffered for all our sins, pains, and afflictions and for everyone that was, is, or will be. Now we can repent and be made clean again because of Him.
I know that Jesus loves everyone regardless of
what we have done. I am sooooooooooooooooooo
grateful for Him and for His suffering for my sins, pains, and afflictions. I’m sooooo thankful that He did that. Whatever I’m going through. Whenever I think there is no one who
understands how I feel. He does. He knows EXACTLY how I feel. He suffered too and more. As I turn to Him during those times, through
the power of the atonement, my sins and pains can be go away because of Him.
Our church released a video recently for Easter,
which apparently is one of the top trending videos on YouTube. It’s entitled Because of Him. http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694
I invite you to watch it regardless of your religious background. Even if you are not religious, Jesus Christ sacrificed
for you. This is the message I’m going
to go share with the people of Brazil.
It is exactly the message this video is sharing. Learn what is possible because of him. I am who I am because of Him. I’m doing what I’m doing because of Him. Watch this video. Check out the website after you are done. This week think about who you are and what
you have and what you can do because of Him. Please write me back and tell me about yourself
and the blessings you’ve received because of Him.
-- Elder Hammond
