September 17, 2018 -- Morada dos Passaros (Vitoria da Conquista)

so my week was pretty exciting! its been super different to be in an area again! i cant even explain it, my feet are sore and my pants are dusty but there is no better feeling. My companion is Elder Machado from Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil and he was trained by elder Christofferson! Morada dos Passaros is a pretty strong and relatively new branch here in Vitória da Conquista and i am loving it so far. its been so nice to just wake up study and go out to work. its been kinda weird adjusting to the new area because i was in the office for so long with the same members and same area. its kinda the same feeling that i had when i got into the mission and felt like i was in a different world! but its been fun. 

monday i spent the day in the office working on the transfer stuff and then i packed my bags and took the overnight bus, yes i do sleep well on buses, planes and in cars. its a blessing hahaha. 

Brazil Salvador South office staff with the Biddulph's

Elder Prince, Elder Gray, and Elder Sorocaba right before his transfer

when i got to conquista it was chilly! not actually cold at all but now that i have been in tropical salvador for so long 60 with a little wind is like a winter storm for me haha. we had a nice day working in our area and gettng to know some contacts and investigators a little better. we also had to pick up a medical exam in the city center for another elder who spent the day with us before he went to a different area. got to spend some more time in a public bus! been a while since i have done that too. hahah. 

wednesday we took this other elder early to the bus station to meet up with the new elder who would open up a new area. here in conquista there were a few complicated situations so part of our zone got whitewashed and we have had to show some people around a little bit. our lunch was like an hour away and where we went doesnt have buses so we got some steps in as mom would say. then we made some really good visits during the rest of the day. we confirmed the baptism of maristella and thabata for saturday and hlped them clear up some doubts. we also had some new investigators who we really liked Robson, vanessa and their 4 children. its been fun to teach them about the restoration! they dont have a church and areally looking for some help as robson is unemployed recently and vanessa got diagnosed with cancer. its amazing to see the faith of the people here!

thursday we had our weekly planning and some nice lessons in the afternoon. we also had a activty at the chapel for the branch and the other ward here and it was fun. we got asked to give a short message about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well. There were some investigators and less actives who have been having some problems that really enjoyed the message and it was awesome to see their eyes and faces light up. i really think that is one of the best parts of being a missionary. seeing the hope that the Lord's message brings to his children. but the night ended a little strange as some sarcastic comments were thrown around and a relief society cat fight almost broke out during the game after the message. 

friday had our district meeting  and visited some investigators to mark appointments and confirm them to visit church on sunday. we also had stella and thabata's interviews and they passed with flying colors. their story is amazing and i cant wait to tell you all about it another time. 

Elder Prince, Elder Machado, Maristella and Thabata, and another elder

saturday we spent the morning filling up the font and preparing the chapel for the baptism, at the same time as weekly chapel cleaning and a branch BBQ. you could say that my first week in this new area was very #blessed. The baptism went perfectly and the meat was awesome. then we taught some of the sisters investigatosr about the commandments and the need for baptism and we were able to help them mark baptismal dates! it was interesting to teach with 4 missionaries at the same time and see how elders and sisters teach differently. 

sunday went really well. the confirmations were great and we were surprised when our investigators invited some friends and neighbors to come to church with us. we looked like a little herd of people walking to the chapel! the sunday service was awesome and we had a really nice lesson in elders quorum about forgiveness. our investigators also really liked it. 

today we have done a little shoppig for groceries and cleaned our house.

this week i read the parable of the 10 virgins more than a few times. its such an amazing parable and really shows us the necessity of preparing and always being ready for whatever could come our way. It is more centralized in the Lord's 2nd coming but i thought a lot about how it could apply to little emergencies that we have in our everyday lives. If we are living the commandments and the gospel, giving a good effort the Lord will bless us endlessly and we will be prepared for whatever could pass in front of us as well as preparing us for the 2nd coming. give it a little read Matthew 25:1-13. He lives! He loves us! He is always there for us. Pray to him in your secret places and he will give you the strength and prepare you to face anything in your lives. 

Elder Prince