Week 61 (Week 15 Back in Brazil!)

 

My new trainee, Elder Costa, and I

Wow what a week it has been! Starting last P-day I stayed the remainder of the night at the mission office, with the office elders and missionaries going home, and then saw them off at 5 in the morning the next day. Then, after a long while of waiting, my  new companion, Elder Costa, arrived along with 2 other elders and one sister. We had a little meeting, and then ate some pizza, which was actually super good! Most of the pizza I've had here so far hasn't been near as good as the pizza I've had back home, but this place was very good. But after lunch we took an Uber all the way back to Bras Cubas, which was about an hour drive. 

Elder Costa is from Santarém, Pará, a city in Brazil, way up in the north, where it is much hotter! He's actually a pretty quiet guy like me, which is interesting, and he loves to play video games. He's very prepared though for a mission! He has a strong testimony, and a big desire to serve. 

My new trainee Elder Costa and I

This week was kind of nice to finally be a little more in charge of our schedule, but also kind of hard. The work in Bras Cubas has been slow for a while now, slowly picking up, but its proved really difficult this week to fill our time. On the days that our lessons went through, it was great and fulfilling, but other days when no one was interested in talking with us was very frustrating. But I'm really doing all I can to make sure my trainee starts his mission off right!

Cooking for "my boy".

Unfortunately, the baptism we had planned for this weekend with our friend Ana didn't go through. She was having some problems with family, and needed a little time alone, but I still believe she will be baptized sometime soon. I've also been reflecting a lot on my mission, how I've served mainly in smaller areas where the work was a little slower, and feeling a little frustrated. But a thought just came to my mind, that the work of the Lord always starts with humble beginnings, line upon line, precept upon precept. I've worked hard on my mission, and have sometimes expected to see the work blossom when the seeds had only barely been planted, but now I realize that truly my work hasn't been for nothing. Even though I haven't seen many people come to the waters of baptism personally, I've still touched the lives of many people, making friendships and connections that I wouldn't trade for anything. So I'm very grateful for all that the Lord has given me, and the work he has permitted me to be a part of.

~Elder Kasey Lightheart

Goodbye Elder Souza!!!