Lots of fun stuff has been happening down here in good ol' Brazil
this last week. Definitely another interesting week as financial secretary. As
always. We had zone conferences this week, which I got to participate in, so
that kind of dominated everything. There was also some frantic taxiing and
calling related to some of the new houses and money situations. But hey, life
would be a whole lot less exciting without problems to be solved!
1) Monica's Grand Adventures- Towards
the beginning of the week we got back in contact with my recent convert,
Monica, who had been in a different state in Brazil for the last month or so.
And, wow, did she have some stories to tell. The visit was basically a 40 minute
rendition of her adventures followed by a little commentary by us. It started
when she went to Vitória to visit her sister and was unable to find the church.
She was taking heavy anti-depressant medicine and, at the end of the first
week, wasn't doing so well. She said a prayer and told God that he had
abandoned her, left her sick and without friends, etc. She then had an
overwhelming feeling of peace and love, and knew for a fact that she was not
alone and needed to get up and have more faith.
So began Monica's mission. She would go the park every day
near the house with the Book of Mormon, read on the bench, and talk about it
with anyone who approached her. She did this daily, and sometimes had a
considerable group of people listening to her speak. She told us to get the
church organized down there (I'm pretty sure it already is, but it could
certainly use strengthening), and I think she wants to go back to help it move
along.
2) Are You Not Entertained Part II- Another
couple of quick stories.
Cheese
Threat- A rather embarrassing story. I was walking down the street in
my suit going to zone conference, when I saw this guy who was clearly homeless
walking towards us with like a half-pound of cheese in each hand. He saw me,
and suddenly got a really angry look on his face. He lifted the cheese and
violently made like he was going to throw it at me. I definitely flinched (the
guy looked crazy. For all I knew he really would throw it). All the people
around started chuckling and the guy walked past us, pretending to throw it
another couple times. Weird. I'm just glad he didn't throw it. That would have
hurt.
The
Great Umbrella Robbery of 2013- On Wednesday we had a zone
conference and it was absolutely pouring down rain. Kind of a rough day. So all
of the missionaries came in and left their umbrellas in the parking garage to
dry, but we left the gate open. We left a little later and all of the umbrellas
were missing. Well except for one which was still leaning against the wall
(yep. Definitely mine.) So the entire zone didn't have umbrellas anymore. Which
would have been pretty rough the rest of the week.
3) Rebellion- This week I nearly had a
rebellion on my hands when the missionaries' allowance fell through a day late.
Nearly the entire mission called wondering where the money was, and if I could
put money in their accounts to help out. To be clear, I do not have that kind
of power and have nothing to do with when the allowance falls. That's all with
the church headquarters. I just ask them to make the irregular payments when I
need to. It was pretty ridiculous at the amount of calls, and I got to lay down
the law in my training at zone conferences. Missionaries are awesome teachers,
but are kind of dumb when it comes to money, I have to say. President jokingly
said that he learned this week a number of people that he would never call as
financial secretary.
Overall a solid week, and a little less stressful then those
of the recent past. This week I didn't have a whole lot of study time, but I
did learn a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon. It is the key to
conversion. If you feel like your testimony isn't strong enough, if you feel
like you don't have one, or if you just want to feel the Holy Ghost a little
stronger in your life, read the Book of Mormon. Study it. Ponder on it. I can
promise that it will bring you that feeling that you desire.
I was also pondering today on the spiritual experiences that
I have had over the course of my life. How I have come to the knowledge I have
today. And, in remembering some very specific circumstances, I came to a renewed
conviction of the truth of this gospel. You all need to know that I know this
work is true. Without a shadow of a doubt. I know that Christ is my Savior.
That God lives. I have experienced things in my life that leave me unable to
say otherwise.
I love being a missionary. I love all of you. Stay strong.
Much Love,
Elder Burt
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