Monday, August 2, 2010

Great Week!!

Hello lovely family!
Well, this week was indeed big and busy, but it was very enjoyable and edifying, much to my surprise. Just goes to show that as we do our best the Lord will be by our side to help us out! This week was a testimony of that to me.

Last Monday we finished closing a missionary apartment (the elders had moved to a new one in the same city, very close to their chapel). Tuesday I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Elder Teixeira, which was quite uplifting. One thing I particularly enjoyed was his invitation for me to read two or three scriptures from the Topical Guide sections about Jesus Christ. The more I read and study about Him, the more I can focus on Him; the more I can focus on Him, the more I will desire and strive to become like Him, and be of service to others. It´s wonderful stuff, and I invite all of you to commence doing so, if you are not already doing some sort of study.

And throughout the week, despite being so busy - especially on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - we were able to have a good amount of Spirit-led lessons. The two highlighting fruits of those labors for the week were 1) Edgar Gourgel, an 8 year old (soon to be 9) son of a member family that we´re working on strengthening was baptized and confirmed. He didn´t count as a convert baptism, but I´m sure both member and convert baptisms are valid and of great value to God. 2) Vaníce is now committed to being baptized (and she will count as a convert baptism)! Unfortunately though, we still have the obstacle of her living with her member boyfriend Célio, even though they´ve promised their not breaking the law of chastity. But to follow the Lord´s standards, we want to work on them getting married or living in separate apartments. (That´s still a challenge because Célio is having some family feud problems, isn´t working and doesn´t want help from his parents and a bunch of extended family.) But, as Dad has said and was quoted frequently by Elder and Sister Teixeira, onward and upward!!

So, life is great! Thank you all once again for the news, and especially your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming, please! I hope everything is well as can be with Joy and lil´ Marguerite coming so close to delivery. Be strong, be well, and be happy! Have a great week, and I love all of you!
--Elder Spencer Ellis



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