Week with Pedro! (with pics!)

Date: March 21, 2016 at 11:18:01 AM MDT

Subject: Week With Pedro

From: Lee Holmes <lee.holmes@myldsmail.net>

Ola!

This week was a busy one, lots happened! Tuesday we got to do a division in Lapa, a really beautiful city here in Portugal, and I got to go out with Elder Silva, a great missionary. He has a stutter that gets him down at times, but he has a sign on the wall in his study room that says 1) Esquecer Imediatismo, 2) Se-Tranquilizar, 3) Fazer o Seu Melhor. Or in englsh, (1) forget immediate things, (2) relax, and (3) do your best. Really loved those three things, and I can apply those things perfectly as well!

On Wednesday night we had a dinner and family night and helped the family with their missionary work. Elder Ward and I did a practice with the son Guilerme of him ``inviting his friend to church after coming home from playing soccer.´´ It was fun, he relaxed, got to laugh and get the nerves out, and on sunday he told us how he did the invite with his friend but the friend was busy. Haha was excited to tell us he invited his friend though. 

Also met an awesome girl named Ana this past week, who went to church and was taught by some missionaries on the other side of the river a couple weeks ago. And she really felt the spirit with the first missionaries and at church, and with us as well. She didn´t make it to church this week, got caught up in work, but looks forward to it next week. She Wants to be baptized, so now its time to prepare her for the waters of baptism. 

This week, the best part I think had to be our time with our friend Pedro we met last sunday night. He´s really poor, is living in a abandoned car and gets paid nearly nothing for the cars he washes, but has a ton of faith in Christ and tells us how he reads the bible every night. After giving him the book of mormon, he has been reading every night and is flying through 1 Nephi. Read more than any other person I have taught until this point. We had a number of lessons with him this week, but the first one was my favorite. We taught him the restoration of the church, and he loved it. Every time we showed him a picture of christ he expressed his love for his savior, and then Pedro gave a beautiful prayer where the spirit was the strongest. The words that taught me after that he said was ´´Obrigado pai pelo abraço, não senti isso por muito tempo´´ or ´´thank you heavenly father for the hug, i haven´t felt thisfor a long time.´´ He wants to be baptized this coming sunday, even set a date in his phone and tells us every day how many days left he has, came to the baptism of a lady named Lucia this week and loved it, loved church, and tells us that he prays for US every night. He repeats to us all the things from the word of wisdom like he cant drink, and is doing great at giving up smoking. He told his boss that he never wants him to offer him a cigarrette again, He´s the MAN! Got to teach a lesson with one of the members here, Ivanildo, and they became friends which was nice. Hard seeing his living conditions, but happy to be able to bring the restored gospel into his life and increase his faith. 

Taught 2 more ladies yesterday with Ivanildo as well. A house that we knocked a door, and they really loved our visit. They accepted to read and pray, said how they really wanted to know what church here on earth is really true, and accepted to work towards getting baptized on the third of April! Going to go back to them this week!

Sonia, viviem, and Dulce´s dad left, and we are planning on teaching them tonight and seeing their baptism this week. We ran into them walking home one night and they were so excited to see us!

Also went to a mission call opening yesterday, our Friend Josémar isgoing to Mozanbique! Today we went to Palacio Queluz with a bunch of missionaries which was pretty awesome as well! Hoping to see a great week coming up, and then transfers!

Love you all!