Reactivation Efforts

How was your week?

Really good and really productive!

Did you get any new families this week?

Yes we found two couples. I feel like they´ll be baptized within a 3 week frame

Are your baptisms still set for next week?

No, they´re moved till the first week of February now.  They couldn´t come to church yesterday and can´t next week. but they are both firm with testimonies now. 

Hi Family!

We had a really productive week this week and made some good progress with the people we´re teaching. We didn´t have anyone in sacrament meeting, but they all had good excuses (if that exists). Elizabete and Thuane made us Lasagna last night and promised us that they would start coming to church once their school break gets done. They will be baptized the first week of February. I´m really excited for them! At church yesterday I talked to President Ribeiro, because he lives in the ward that meets right after ours, and I asked him a good technique to get into an apartment complex and teach. He said for me to say a prayer in my heart and to just push a number. I did that right after church and they let us in! It was the first people that have actually let us in. It was a way good message. Their names are Lucas and Patricia. They´re boyfriend/girlfriend and don´t live together, so I´ve got a really good feeling that they´ll be baptized here within a few weeks. 

The hardest part about this area is that no one comes to church. The investigators give us their word and then bail at the last second. I have a feeling that I might train again after this transfer, President talked to me a little about it. The first week I got here there were 145 people in sacrament, and this Sunday there were roughly 175-180, so I feel like the Lord is putting me where I need to be placed. We have been working a lot with the young men in the ward that are planning on serving missions. There´s a big group of them, so we usually try to take one of them proselytizing with us every other day. It´s seems really helpful because they all have friends that we can pass by to teach and they can all provide insights that missionaries can´t really provide.  

Hopefully I can help get this area going on baptisms so that we can get the Stake divided. We only need 5 more Melchezidek Priesthood holders per ward to divide it. I want to try and get 10 re-activated or baptized in my ward alone.  President told me yesterday at church that the area where I´m at hadn´t baptized in over a year until we baptized Eduardo. He challenged us to baptize weekly in February, so let´s see what we can do! Sorry this week is really short again because we didn´t teach a lot of new people. We´re working with the families that I told you about last week. The picture attached is of Elizabete and Thuane last night when they made us the food.

It´s so cool how all of the guys are getting out on missions. Almost all of my friends are gone now. The members here are all getting way more excited about missionary work, and we stop by their houses every time we´re nearby to invite them to do some visits with us. Sorry today is short again. I really tell you everything that´s going on! I am so dang jealous of all of the snow that you have and the cold weather, that´s definitely my favorite time of the year. I wish they had snow here, I´d for sure talk my companion into going snowboarding with me. All we do on P-day is walk around the city and take pictures, send emails, and sleep.

 My testimony grows every single day, and I can just see miracles in the people. It´s not one of those miracles that we read about in the bible, but the changes that come into people’s lives from the Gospel are a true miracle to me. It´s amazing how much I took for granted being born into the gospel. These people have amazing changes come into their lives when they come into the church. Ttheir personal light illuminates 10 times the second that they say yes to an invite. PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAILS NEXT WEEK BEFORE 8 IN THE MORNING ON MONDAY. SO SEND THEM SUNDAY NIGHT OR EARLY MONDAY MORNING. I WILL NOW BE GETTING ON THE COMPUTER EARLIER!  

I love all of you! have a great week!

Love,

Elder Shepherd