Another Baptism! :)

We had another baptism yesterday! It was a guy named Eugenio who is 17 years old. The baptismal service was really great, and I felt the Spirit really strongly, as I usually do at baptisms! I love going to baptisms, and watching people make the decision to promise to God that they will keep His commandments, and take the name of Jesus Christ upon them, and be an example to others, and serve others. It is so amazing. Eugenio bore his testimony after being baptized, and he said that he thought that 2 weeks was really fast when we made the goal with him, but we were teaching him, and he was reading The Book of Mormon, and doing a lot of pondering, and he received an answer to his prayers, that the church, and The Book of Mormon, are true, and also, he said "If Jesus Christ, our Savior, went through all of the horrible things that He went through, and suffered so much, for us, how can we not do this simple act of being baptized, that He has asked us to do, to thank Him?" I'll be honest, when he said that, I started crying. It's true.. how could we not do the things He asked us to do, when He gave his LIFE for us? He loves us, and He gave us the opportunity to receive forgiveness for our sins, and return to live with our Heavenly Father again, and our families, for eternity, after this life. We just need to do the things that He has asked of us! Have faith in Him, repent of our sins, be baptized by someone who has the authority to do so, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. Live the gospel, basically. It's not a lot that He has asked of us! I know that as we seek to live the gospel and follow Christ's example, that we can be cleaned of our sins, and return to God's presence after this life. I love the gospel, and I love this church.

Have a great week, everyone!

P.S. Last week was transfers, and I stayed with Elder Wellington again, and we're still in Mangabeira II. It's great here! We made a Ward Mission Plan yesterday with our new Ward Mission Leader, and we're super excited. We have another baptism set for next Sunday, too! :)

I love each of you!

Elder Canto

Brida's baptism (last week)

Eugenio's baptism (yesterday)

Did I ever mention how hot it is here?

Hi everyone! I just got back from a 3-4 hour hike to the beach and back. It was pretty awesome. We weren't originally planning on going to the beach.. our plan was just to follow this trail that goes really far into our area and then come back, like we accidentally did on Thursday, out of curiosity, but then, since we were already fairly close, we decided to continue to the beach. I'm.. pretty sure that it's not outside of our area.. we aren't allowed to leave our areas without permission from our mission president, President Nogueira. Imagine being stuck in your city/town, and not being able to watch TV, listen to music, use a computer, or a cell phone, or anything. All of the things that I just listed are part of life as a missionary. haha -- entertainment is basically not allowed. But, I love being a missionary! The feeling that I get when I'm teaching someone or serving someone, there just isn't anything quite like it.

We had a baptism yesterday! The girl who was baptized is 9 years old, and she is a recent-convert's daughter. The baptismal service went really well, and there were 30+ people there! It's always a great experience. It was interesting, teaching a 9 year old. I enjoyed it. :)

A few days ago, a member said -- wait a second.. HAHA the song that the LAN house is playing right now is "What Does the Fox Say?" XD oh man.. haha!

So anyways.. I got distracted for a second there XD -- a few days ago, a member mentioned how on his mission, basically all of the people who he baptized had family members who are members, or were people he found through referrals from members. Only 1 family that he baptized was a family he found through doing street contacts and knocking on doors. I started to think a bit, and I realized that the same is true for me! I've only baptized one person whom I found by doing street contacts. I think maybe I need to change my focus a little bit here.. I'll have to start asking church members for some more help in finding people to teach. To whom it applies, give referrals to the missionaries in your ward! And don't just pass their information to the missionaries, but actually follow-up with them, and help them to set up a time to meet with the person/people, and go and visit them with the missionaries! This helps a ton! And don't be afraid to invite people to church! You don't need to feel bad for inviting someone to learn about the gospel! There is really nothing better that you could invite someone to do! :) Imagine, if Joseph Smith had said nothing about his vision.. the church wouldn't even be here today! You need to open your mouth and share the gospel. If you don't, you are denying people the opportunity to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom after this life. Share the gospel -- please! People need to hear your testimony! I promise that as you seek to do this, your testimony will grow and you will be blessed for doing so. Don't be ashamed of your beliefs. :)

I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week! :)

I'll be emailing on Wednesday next week, since we have transfers on January 21st.

Elder Canto