Olá!

We had a general authority in our mission this week! Elder Nielsen of the Seventy! He is in charge of missionary work and it was so amazing to have him come and speak to us! He spoke about missionary work and the growth of the church. He showed us a video about the growth of the church that you can only see in one other place in the world (Fayette, New York). It was so amazing to see. Also, the Mission President's wife spoke. She can't speak Portuguese. She is trying to learn, but it is super hard for her. She always has a translator, but during the devotional, she bore her testimony completely in Portuguese! It was so amazing. I felt the spirit so strongly as she tried with all her might to bear the feelings of her heart. I can totally relate to her as the language is hard sometimes, but I could totally feel the Spirit and the Spirit speaks past language barriers and talks directly to the heart.

This week went really well overall! The language is getting better every day. To a point where sometimes if I try to speak to someone in English it is super hard. I was at a Brazilian Barbeque just a little bit ago (Super good by the way) and a guy was talking to me about why I am here. I was trying to bear my testimony in English and it was extremely hard. It actually takes a lot more to speak in English right now. Especially for church things because the past 2 and a half months has been completely in Portuguese. Such a blessing that I can have the gift of tounges. It is not completely easy at times, but the spirit helps me every single day. I am so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Church was a little hard and sad because we didn't have any of our investigators there. It has been hard to keep inviting people, but they still don't follow everything. One of the families has started reading the Book of Mormon which is amazing! This week was hard to get a hold of a lot of other investigators. We keep trying every day, though. Also, one less active member we teach didn't come to church even though he has been usually. We talked to him later and he talked about another church that he also likes going to. I was so sad, but as we explained about why the Church is true, you could tell that he understood that he has the fullness of the gospel. We talked about Lehi's dream and how there is no other source of eternal life, except through the straight and narrow path, holding onto the rod of iron. It was actually one of the most spiritual lessons that I taught. I am glad the Spirit bore the truth of all of it also. He understands why the Church is important and has a stronger testimony now.

The biggest lesson I have learned this week is that sometimes we are asked to climb mountains. The path of the Lord is the correct path, but at times it doesn't seem like the easiest path. Sometimes we will have trials, sorrow, and pain, but always remember that the Lord is always with us. Through Him, we will grow stronger and when we endure and climb with all of our might up the mountains we have, he will strengthen us and we will have happiness, peace, blessings, and eternal life with our families. I love you all!

Elder Johnson

Sunset over Brazil