Neto and Zenaide

So last week I told you that Neto and Zenaide would be baptized this Saturday. It went through and they were baptized! It was so special! My companion, Elder Santos is having a few knee problems and we're going to physical therapy. That and a few other things, we were very busy last week. We got a little side-tracked so we didn't have a whole lot of time to plan out the baptism, but it was great.

On Saturday we went and cleaned out the baptismal font and got it filled up, an hour or so before the baptism. The Irmã Zenaide's parents came from Piripiri, about 2 and a half hours from Teresina so they could see the wedding and the baptism. Irmão Neto has a brother in the ward right next to Taquari, so he, his son (Neto's nephew who just got his call to Florianóplis) and a few acquaintances came to the baptism. It was simple but great. I wanted to do a special musical number, but nobody else who could sing with me was able to come, so I ended up singing a solo! It wasn't the best, but I sang because they're special to me. Then we had the actual baptism and watched a small clip from the DVD Introduction to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It went really well!

Afterwards we all went over to Neto and Zenaide's house and we had a little party with food and cake. The cake was delicious. Very, very delicious. So was the food! They got to know a few more members of the ward, so that was a big help.

Saturday also happened to be my birthday! So it was pretty much the best birthday on the mission. On Sunday, I got to confirm them members. I'm grateful to have been able to be a little part of it all.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love ya'all!
Elder Rackham

Update!

So I said that last week I would report on the baptism we were going to have Saturday. The baptism was postponed a week, but it was for a good reason. For Neto and Zenaide to be able to be baptized, they needed to get married civily. So we went to the cartório (I don't know how to translate it, I forgot) to sign the documents and start the process. The only unfortunate thing is that it takes a bit of time to go through the process. The soonest we can hold the wedding is this Saturday. It's fine that way, because it just happens to fall on my birthday! What a great way to celebrate my birthday!

It's great to see them every time we visit. Every time that we're there, they're either reading the Book of Mormon together and talking about baptism or something about church. It's been simply amazing to see the change that has taken place in their life. I stop and think about my part of the process. I can't really explain, but we as missionaries really don't do much. I say that in terms of helping strengthen families and creating more unity in the home. All we do is teach the gospel. I've seen it many times during my mission, how home life changes dramatically as the people hear and accept the gospel and start to prepare to make and keep sacred covenants. Many people have said of the difference that has occured. We didn't help them with this. I think it's simply the Spirit that comes into their homes that cause this great difference.

I've also unfortunately seen the other side of it, where a family doesn't apply gospel principles in their home as we've been teaching them, and this great change doesn't occur. This is probably a fault of ours, not theirs. We could have taught better, or meet their needs better. Unfortunately we're not perfect. I hope one day that the seeds we planted will sprout and they as well will be able to enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel.

I'm learning so much, every single day. I hope everyone is doing well! Next week for sure I'll tell you about Neto and Zenaide's baptism!

Love you all!
Elder Rackham

Well well well!

I'm short on time, again! I talk to much it seems. I'll be sure to budget a smidgen more time for next week's email so I can send a better update.

We're teaching a family and this next Sunday they're going to be baptized! We have everything planned out for it to happen. Everything should go alright. I'm so excited because it's a very special family. They're so great to us, and I always feel the spirit when we teach them.

I'm excited to plan out the baptism. I want it to be special and unforgettable. They mean so much to me it's the least I can do. We're going to teach them to night.

We had our Zone Conference last week. It was great as always. President Dias' trainings are always so great. I always feel that he's an inspired man during these conferences and I'm amazed at his knowledge and capacity to teach clearly the doctrine.

I'll let ya'll know about the baptism next week!

Love,
Elder Rackham

Sometimes you're not sure what to do

We were going to have a baptism this past Saturday, but Aliciane is facing some family problems. Aliciane really felt for herself the truthfulness of these things. She wants to be baptized. But her family is important to her. And that's the problem. Her family isn't too keen about her being baptized. We watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration with her, her mom, and a family we're teaching. It was very powerful and everyone felt very strongly that Joseph Smith didn't make this things up. It was the first time that I watched the movie as well, and it really had a profound effect on me. In fact, I think because of this experience Aliciane resolved her concerns and gained a testimony.

We tried to work with her to see how she felt about everything. But she's scared about what could happen. She has an uncle who is very opposed to the idea of being baptized. He started visiting them and bringing pastors with him to try to convince her that she shouldn't do it. Everything is giving resistence. But it'll be okay. I need to remember that this is done on the Lord's timeline, and not when we decide to have things done.

It was a good week. I love my companion, Elder Santos. We have so much fun and we teach well together and it's just wonderful! The ward is really great. It's been a good experience returning tothe same area I was already in.

I'll let you know about Neto and Zenaide next week. It's one of the families we're teaching. It's been a wonderful experience so far.

Love you all!
Elder Rackham

My car goes vroom!

I wish I had a car. The buses here are going to kill me! I feel like the buses are going to tip over because they take turns way to fast. I'm going to carry a whistle around with me and blow it when the driver gets wild and reckless and yell "Stop good sir! You're driving is wild and reckless and I don't feel safe anymore!" I'm not sure how well it will work but it's worth a try I guess.

We're working with a great family. Their names are Neto and Zenaide. That's a first I've ever had an investigator with either of these names. Anyway, we've been working with them a lot about eternal families. They really want to be. Tonight we're going to have a special family night with a couple from the ward who's been sealed in the temple. It's going to be great! We've set their baptism for the 13th of February.

Time is short as always! But I hope everyone has a very safe and wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Rackham

Lucy! I'm Home!

So one thing I learned in this mission so far is that transfers happen when someone is transferred. That can happen at any time. Many missionaries think of this as an "emergency transfer" but it's not always like that. Sometimes a transfer just happens. Let's just say that a transferred ended up happening this past week. Let's just say that I ended up being transferred too. The assistants called me to let me know, and I was surprised when they told me where I was going, one, and two, who my new companion would be! I was transferred to Taquari. This probably rings a bell for several of you. That's because I served in Taquari for 3 weeks in the end of March to the beginning of April! And my companion, Elder Santos! I lived with Elder Santos in Parnaíba! And now we're companions.

I'm sad to leave Horto Florestal. I really liked the ward. It was a huuuuuuuge area, but it was good. I really grew to love the Horto Florestal ward. It has some amazing members who each have a unique story that's special and important. They're doing the best they can, and they're being blessed for it. I got to work side by side with a few specific members and create some close friendships. I want to come back and visit Teresina after my missiojn. I've spent several months in this city, and to me it's beautiful. It has trash in the gutters, unpaved roads, dead cats and dogs, thrown in piles of garbage in the backroads, but I think it's beautiful.

I was transfered on a Wednesday, and got here late Wednesday night. On thursday we got to work! It was nice to see the people that I got to know. Several of them at least remember that I already served in the ward! This Sunday at church, I got to see almost everyone that I knew. It was so weird but great at the same time.

Another weird moment was walking into the house we live in here in Taquari. When I was here there was only one companionship. There's two here now. There were a few things fixed and a few things changed, but the house is just as I remember it. I'm really excited to get to work. There are some great investigators that we're working with that I really enjoy, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Also I made brownies. They were delicious.

This afternoon we're going to the Institute building to spend some time with 6 other missionaries. Me and Elder Santos, Elder Magalhães and Elder Friden (they live with us), Elder Peixoto (my old companion) Elder Rodrigues (his new companion), and Elder Pereira and Elder Silva. It's going to be fun. Also, I got to know the institute coordinator, Irmão Murilo. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to anyone in the ward because it happened so quickly, so it'll be nice to talk with him again.

Anyway, until next week!

Love,
Elder Rackham

Winter is Approaching!

It's getting cold here! Well, as cold as Teresina can get which is
about 28 degrees celsius. At night it gets down to 25 degrees, maybe
23 at the lowest. Unfortunately I don't think in Fahrenheit anymore
so I can tell you what it is in fahrenheit.

We had an interesting experience. More of a reminder to me actually.
The other day we were talking with our Ward Mission Leader, and I
asked him if he knew anybody that we could teach where we were going
to work that day. He worked a lot with the past missionaries, so he
got to know their pool of investigators. He remembered a girl that a
member had introduced to the missionaries apparently, but he didn't
know what happened in the end. So we tried to find the house but we
couldn't. So we called him again and he mentioned that the Stake
President knew this girl. We went over to President Santiago's house
and we actually found him at home! I was expecting to find his wife,
but he was actually home. We talked to him about this girl, but he
didn't remember her. He did remember that his nextdoor neighbors were
being taught by the previous missionaries. We took note and told him
we would come back another day to talk to his neighbors.

That was Wednesday. Two days later, we were walking in the direction
back home one night. It was about 8:15 and all of our plans had
fallen through. So we were thinking of something we could do to
finish our night and go home. First we remembered a part-member
family that we had taught once. So we decided to go down that street.
It just so happens that it's the same street as President Santiago.
Right as we turned onto the street, we remembered his neighbors and
instead of going to this family we stopped and knocked on this
neighbors door. A man answered it and we talked on the step for a
little bit. We discovered that his mom had passed away 2 years ago
and he was missing her. We told him that we have a message about
this, and he invited us in.

It was a good lesson. He invited us back. We'll be going back and
visiting him tomorrow. It reminded me that one, if we make the effort
to find people, we will find people prepared by the Lord. And two, I
should be bold in my declaration of this restored gospel.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and until then, be safe and have
fun! But not too much fun. That can be unhealthy at times.

Love,
Elder Rackham