Week 52 (Week 6 Back in Brazil!)

 

 Elder Souza and I tuning in for a small
portion of my home stake conference.

Hey everyone! What a week it has been. It honestly went by super quickly, but don't worry, I do still have a few things to share.

This week we had a bit of an emergency transfer with about 20 changes in the mission, because we were receiving 8 more American missionaries. The day before, Elder Souza and I were informed we would be receiving an American missionary named Elder Morales, my MTC companion!! I freaked out and was super excited to see him again and be his companion along with Elder Souza. We started moving furniture in our apartment, making room for him and all his luggage. Then we went to sleep, expecting to pick him up the next day. Then early the next morning, we were informed that one American missionary missed his flight, and that President had made a few adjustments in the transfer, moving Elder Morales to a different companionship. I was pretty bummed, but got over it pretty quickly. I'm still just mainly excited to have my MTC companion in the mission again!

Elder Souza also became our new zone leader this week! I'm not officially recognized as a zone leader as well, but I'll be helping out, and attending all the same meetings he does! I think it'll be pretty nice actually, giving us more things to do. Honestly, during the lockdown it has been hard to stay busy, so I'm glad to have a few extra meetings and responsibilities now. 

District council this week.

The other day we were messaging this lady named Angelina, who randomly started video calling us. We answered and had a nice chat with her, and then set up a lesson in a few days. Let me just tell you, she was golden. She was super excited to learn more about the Book of Mormon and our church, and as we were making preparations to bring her a copy of the Book of Mormon, we discovered that she was out of our area, in fact, outside of our mission. It was a bummer, but we can potentially continue to teach her ourselves if she prefers. But most likely we will end up introducing her to missionaries closer to her. However, it was still a pleasant reminder that God really is preparing people to be taught by the missionaries, because this lady was certainly prepared. 

This week I've been reading in 3rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon, when Jesus Christ visits the ancient people of the Americas, the Nephites. It always amazes me the shift from all the destruction and disaster before his coming, to the peace and joy that came after. One thing that really stuck out to me this time around was the symbolism of Jesus Christ being the light of the world. Before Christ came to the Nephites, they experienced 3 days of pure darkness, without the ability to make any light or any fire. But after those 3 days, the light illuminated the land once again, and Jesus Christ came and ministered to the people. One thing my companion pointed out to me, is most likely the sun never stopped shining on the Nephites, but instead dark clouds and mists obscured the light from their view. The same goes for Jesus Christ. The light that he brings never fades, never leaves. He will never abandon us, but at times we are clouded by our own mistakes, or the sins of others, and can't see clearly Christ's light. But nevertheless, he is always there, waiting to illuminate our path again. The Nephites that remained, after much lamentation, repented and became converted unto the Lord. Only after they had repented did the Savior appear among them, and the same goes for us. In order to experience the spiritual light that Christ can bring, we have to act, repent, and walk as He walked, do as He did. We don't have to be perfect, but simply need to try our best, and the Lord will make up the rest.

I hope you all had a wonderful week, and a wonderful Sabbath day yesterday as well. Take care!

~Elder Kasey Lightheart

Our attempt at burgers without real buns!