Very Sweet Experience

Hello!

Transfers were this week, but I stayed in Goiana! Woohoo! This week was especially exciting, we had a division with the Assistants..."we better get this place cleaned up!" Hahaha! (Quote from The Best Two Years) But really they came and did a trio division, so one stayed in Goiana 2 and the other stayed with Elder Jara and me. They helped us out with our teaching, so it was really cool. They taught us how to teach people to their understanding, and that you don’t have to teach a whole lesson. If a person is having a hard time understanding something, don’t move on. It was something I really needed, because sometimes it is hard to know what a person understands because usually they don’t understand very well. I mean they have an American and a Chilean teaching them something they have never heard of before, with a whole new vocabulary...no one knows gospel words. So, we are getting a better feel for things, and it is feeling good.

Just yesterday we had a sweet experience, very sweet experience. I will tell you about this woman named Marilede. It was one of those times that I know for a fact that her faith actually grew, and that she felt the Spirit. She was feeling a little iffy about baptism, and going to Church and everything, but she really likes us, and believes all we say, she feels the Spirit with us. She said we are messengers from God. But yesterday she went to Church and loved it! It was testimony meeting, as you know, and everyone said they know the Church is true, and shared great testimonies. When we visited Marilede yesterday, she said she loved Church, and now she knows it is true. She said she knows because the people express from their hearts, and that is what is most important. Also, her husband and her mom both died this past year, so it has been really hard for her. We taught her about Heavenly Father’s Plan a while ago, but yesterday she told us this experience she had. It reminded me of a passage in Preach My Gospel about listening, and how important it is to listen. It is very hot in her house, and she talks really quiet and slow and a lot, but we endured in listening, and it was very important because she talked to us about the time we told her how people who die don’t forget their life on earth. She said she was about to sleep, and she was just thinking about that. She said it gave her so much comfort. That she felt so peaceful in this thought, and knew that it was true. Then she told us how her faith is growing, that we planted a seed, and she felt it has grown so much. It is just really awesome teaching her. She is like perfect. She says she wants to be baptized, but wants to do it slowly, because she likes doing things slowly, and thinking through them. I can understand that, but it will be awesome.

Also this week, I have been reading "The Fourth Missionary," a talk given by a mission president. I will send it to you. It talks about the difference between giving all your will, or giving it grudgingly. It is really cool. He says you cannot receive the blessings and be changed, if you want to be doing something else the whole day. Maybe it is hard to do these things, but all we need to do is make a decision to give all we have, because it is a lot easier than battling in our minds against the will of the Lord, and our own will all the time. It is something that I have been thinking about. You can read it though, and let me know what you think.

But I am still doing well, and Elder Jara really liked the baptism. He is speaking really well. He said a prayer in Spanish the other day, and I understood every word just about. So I got really excited that I can understand Spanish, now that I know Portuguese. It is pretty funny because it sounds just like Portuguese, but a really weird accent. I hope all you guys are doing well. I love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Com amor,

Eder Hoyt