We know the Master’s voice

Well, yesterday was a wonderful day. We finally had our first baptism here since Adriana when I first got here. Elder Moura was worrying that he would leave the area without one. This family was really quite a blessing to us. If you have been reading my emails for the last few weeks, we had a family whose mother had a dream about us, then we thought that they were running from us. Turns out, there is a lot of problems in that house and the spirit of the devil has a strong grip on the place. Nevertheless, we have made a dent there. Even better, yours truly entered the waters with Allan (11 years old) to perform his first performance of a baptism. A photo should be sent with this email.

So, about the mission, it´s true. The mission will split on July 3rd and three areas (including Osasco) of the North Mission and some of Interlagos are combining into the West mission. We are not to speculate who will go and who will stay (The claw will decide all), but I do hope to finish under President Martins, who will be staying here in the North mission. He has been so wonderful to serve under for the last 8 months. However, the downside is that the São Paulo temple will be in the West mission. For the last while now, the Area Presidency hasn´t let us go to the Campinas temple (a half-hour drive from here) because it´s out of area. However, I met several missionaries that were serving in São Paulo South attend the temple while I was in the MTC. So, we´ll see. I won´t know anything until about May.

Good for Derek! Go, serve, have fun now! You will be an effective elder out there!

Treat those ambassadors well, please. They are kids with Mothers and Father who worry about them, too. Great to hear about the new kid

Some things have stuck out to me recently. Especially regarding what Pres. Monson calls: the heavenly virtue of Patience. When I looked in the synonyms guide, I saw Humbleness and Meekness. The word here for meek means well-trained and obedient. That struck me. What does patience have to do with being obedient, well-trained, and humble? Well, I´ll tell you, at least from a missionary´s perspective. When you are humble, you realize that all of this is controlled by a Supreme Father in Heaven and you are a part of this. You realize that Your Father is mindful of you, otherwise you would not be blessed with the blessings that you have. You thank him for letting you be a part of it, and then you try and do the best work possible. Humble means recognizing, and recognizing true things contributes to your supply of patience. Being obedient means you know what the Lord expects of you, and you do it. It means that, no matter the task or for how long, you cheerfully show up to work and do it “For God loves a cheerful giver.” Well-trained is learning the Master´s voice. The dogs learn to know who calls, and without delay, they respond to the call. They don´t question the order, for they know who gives it. So we must be too.

We have been privileged to be Latter-Day Saints and thus we know the Master´s voice and call. We learn to respond and obey, and because we know whose voice it is, we know who is in the details. Thus, we spend less-time worrying about how long the task is, or how hard it is. We know that God will never abandon us or fail us, for we are his children. May we take a feeling of safety from this and go about doing our duty. Thus, we then understand patience and the power it gives us to overcome life´s mountains.

Eu amo vocês demais!

Stephen

(Elder Jarvis)

Be not faithless, but believing

So the family that seemed to be “running away” last week? Turns out that the mother is having a lot of problems with her current pregnancy and so couldn´t meet with us. They are still very interested and we have an “almost” certain baptism on Sunday of Allan. A very intelligent kid; he understands and even anticipates our lessons. Even the content of them. He was able to correctly link points from past lessons into current ones. A future missionary, perhaps? The sad part was: If I had waited for two more hours before getting angry, it would have been smooth sailing.

 

But anywho, wonderful to hear about nieces and nephews. They are, by far, the ones I miss the most. Yes, mother. Pride in your children is alright. President Hinckley had a large chunk of it placed on the girls in his family. We marked several upcoming baptisms and the ward seems to be a little more forth coming with people to teach. I think a large part of that comes from the fact that “Girl´s and Boy´s Camp” ended Tuesday, with several less-actives and recent converts going.

 

As for me, I´m still recovering from the cold. Not too great, as I still have Skittles and pop left. (The members who can´t give lunch always provide something with pop, and my companion is doing his “I´ve got to look great” diet.) Yesterday, we had a youth get baptized (son of a member) and I was invited to participate in the confirmation circle. It is a wonderful experience to be able to use the Priesthood power to bless the lives of the children of God. It gets used frequently here, as many wish for blessings of health, and members invite us to participate in circles for blessings of comfort. I´ve gotten back on a hymn streak, and I LOVE IT! There is nothing like the power of music to drive away the woes and troubles of the heart. I do feel like this is one of the few times I can use English here, as it is for personal strengthening. Despite any reports to the contrary, I´m in good spirits, and I´m glad that I finally have the certainty in life that there is no burden that can´t be lifted by the Gospel. To paraphrase President Fielding Smith, “Only the gospel of Jesus Christ is the cure for the troubles of the world.”

 

Yesterday, we had an interesting Gospel Principles class taught by Elder Moura about the Holy Ghost. He used an example of cleaning products to illustrate cleaning the inner vessel so that we may be worthy of the Spirit. I was impressed what happened when he drew a line on the board and asked the audience (mostly women) what you need to clean the house. After a second, comments began flying so fast that Elder Moura couldn´t keep up. He then asked what you do to clean yourself to be worthy. A silence permeated for about 15 seconds, and then only a few answers came. I was left impressed by the fact that, when it comes to things of the gospel, people were less sure of their answers. Granted, it was a Principles class; although there were many members who knew the material there.

 

I hope we all study the material enough so that we don´t have to wonder what the right answer is. As Dad and I remembered from an Assemblies of God meeting: the guys who look for counterfeit dollars spend their days studying the real dollar and not all the counterfeits  They train themselves with the real thing so that they know instantly the real thing. Elder Moura said yesterday: “We are spirit beings having physical experiences, not physical beings having spiritual experiences.”

 

Please spend a little more time this week studying, praying, and living the gospel this week. You will find the joy that comes from doing so. It´s a joy that can only be given by a loving Father in Heaven, who is in the details of it all. Please “be not faithless, but believing.”

 

Eu amo vocês!

 

Stephen

(Elder Jarvis)

Your own sacrifices make me want to be better than I am

Let Elder Dattilo (John) know that Saulo in Novo Osasco was finally baptized a few weeks ago.  

Glad I could help with Enos. I also love the hymns, especially “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd”. The chorus is a source of motivation for me. “Out in the desert they wander, hungry and helpless and cold. Off to the rescue He (we´ll) hasten(s), bringing them back to the fold.” These, our brothers and sisters, know not what they look for and thus are lost. The problem is that Satan is perhaps the hardest worker I know in the field. Unless we are exactly obedient here, we cannot succeed  Some elders here wonder why we are seemingly destined to fail here, and President Martins has been all over the reason why. The fault is personal consecration.  We don´t dedicate ourselves fully to the work. We break some seemingly meaningless rules, we oversocilize with members, we fail to keep study hours, and then we wonder why the work of God isn´t going forth. The harvest has been slow here, and there are many reasons for it, not the least of which has to do with my own faults. It is frustrating though, that because of the folleys of man, the work slows down. Baptisms are happening here, but not to the extend that they should be. Sorry, Mom, but the hair is probably the least of my worries, though I will get it taken care of. A family that we had an amazing encounter with seems to be distancing themselves from us for some reason. The mother is clearly in the house, for we have seen her, but she sends her five year-old to tell us that she isn´t home. (Which he says like this: My mommy asked me to tell you that she is not home.)

 

After watching “The Mountain of the Lord” and remembering the story of John Rowle Moyle, who walked 20 miles two times a week to work on the Salt Lake Temple, and even continued doing this after he lost a leg, for 20 years, I´m saddened by the fact that the saints are not fully utilizing the wonderful blessing it is to have a temple less than a half-hour from I am right now. It is His house, and like all of His other invitations, He invites us, no, pleads with us, to make use of these things. Please do so, my beloved brethren and sisters. I promise you the blessings of heaven as you do so.

 

This week wasn´t all bad. I have received a few letters from you guys, and I´m glad to be receiving some of the comments from Mickey and to hear that Christine went through the temple. I had my first interview with President entirely in Portuguese. The last few had the majority in Portuguese, except for a few personal questions, but this time was memorable for me. I also finished Doctrine and Covenants in Portuguese for the first time. However, I do have a bit of a cold right now, so continuing to read the Portuguese scriptures aloud is somewhat more of a challenge.

 

Yeah, these last few weeks haven´t been going good for awhile, but it didn´t affect me until now. I think I just need to take a chill pill for a while. I´d like to ask a favor to everyone. Write to me your testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of this work. It´s not that I´m doubting or anything, because I´m not. I finally got around this morning to marking how many things delight the soul of Nephi, and now I´m looking for the things that delight my soul. While I can´t go to the temple (President had tried to fix that for us), I can, however, feast from the scriptures, pray with frankness, and listen to the music of Zion. I also love to receive your letters and hear about the good things that happen there. I remember one letter that I absolutely love. Not long after I got into the MTC, Christine wrote me a letter with a portion of her testimony. It would be a great treasure to me to have letters from my beloved family and dear friends with their own witnesses.

 

You are such a wonderful and supporting family and group of friends. Your own sacrifices make me want to be better than I am.

 

Eu amo vocês!

Stephen
(Elder Jarvis)

Heavenly Father has His eye on you

We missionaries usually use Enos as a chapter to show that the Lord does hear and answer prayers. Enos, for me, is a story confirming why the Book of Mormon came about: as result of the prayers of the righteous people and prophets, the Lord promised them that their testimony (a voice crying from the dust) would be heard by the World. The Book of Mormon is a cry to repentance from civilizations who, well too late, call upon all to learn from their story and do what they did not: Listen to the Lord. PMG says that Enos is a story of a man who felt the power of the Atonement. There´s a lot of good things that pop out when you look at it in that light. (For example: Use the phrase from verse 4: And my soul hungered…) When one feels the power of the Atonement, it is natural to feel and worry for the safety of others, also to invite others to come and partake of the fruit with them. True conversion is marked when you share your religion with others and always feel that desire. That´s all i can think of for now. I hope it helps.

It´s great to hear about the ward, though I´m publicily giving Corbin a kick in the butt. Get over your anxeity, remember that you are entitled to the Lord´s help during mission work, and get going. If you´re not careful, I´ll be back and married before you return. And, just a little shove, the anxeity before the mission only gets worse the longer you postpone it. Just an example: a test always seems scary until you take it and are done with it. Then you realize that it was only a test, and tests are evaulations on what you can improve on, not final judgements.

Anywho, great story about Joe Lawrence. My companion in the MTC, Elder Long, has been called to work in the office as Finance Secretary. Which is actually freaking scary to me. I still think I´m one of the new kids, and the older groups still think so, but as I begin month 10, I find that more and more of the people I knew are gone. My friend, Elder Kubeja, left on Wednesday, and half of my companions (Elder Rebiero and Elder Moura) will leave the 7th of March. Wow, just wow.

We´re starting this week to call new ward missionaries. One of them is a young girl that just got back from London. I only met her during sacrament meeting for 15 seconds.

Elder Christensen´s visit was so awesome and he spoke many thing which cannot be written, but I´ll share two things. Try looking and Ether 12 as an Atonement scripture. (Hint: note that the Lord only mentions weakness in the singular form, and substitute “weakness” in your mind for “the Fall”.) Elder Christensen also opened the floor to questions (we had a really good panel of people to respond to us), and he would always ask after the response: “Did that help?”

So, I had one of those glory moments this morning in studying the Book of Mormon this morning. (Oh, I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Portuguese on the 1st.) I finished reading the interpretation of Lehi´s vision and the miraculous promises that the Lord makes in those chapters. Also finished the “Book of Moses” in Portuguese too, and the promise made to Enoch were just full of wow. Anyways, so as I was reading, I got the feeling of giddiness in me. You know when you really get into something and start thinking of things you hadn´t before? And then you go, “This is too cool”? Yeah, well, I had about an hour of that this morning.

I have received some many answers to my questions that I had always asked about in my life since I started this mission. And, thanks to the Spirit, many answers to questions I had not asked. However, one question had always remained unanswered: “Does God really know and love me? I know He loves and cares about the prophets, and his servants, and the people of the world as a whole, but what about me? Does He really know and love me, too?” I got my answer. After reading the interpretation of the dream and the Book of Moses, you understand, or at least, begin to understand how great and grand Heavenly Father is. I filled up my study with those kinds of scriptures. Then, I had a thought come to my mind: “Read your blessing.” I ran back to the room and grabbed my blessing and read it carefully.

I know everyone will tell you that different parts stick out to you at different times, but it´s true. Even though I have carefully read my blessing many times and have read it out loud at times, I saw things that I didn´t even know was there. Many promises in there prove that Father knows who I am, and not only that, that I have some very specifc blessings and jobs that belong to me. With the things I read, I couldn´t believe that Father doesn´t know me and who I am. One of the lines is: “Heavenly Father has His eye on you.” That may sound very general, but it meant so much to me. I felt that that line was true. He knows me and what I do and what I was promised.

He knows and loves you too. If He knows who I am, He certainly knows who you are, too.

Eu amo vocês

Stephen
(Elder Jarvis)

And it will suprise you what the Lord hath done

Brayden, I couldn´t be more proud of you. Serving the Lord brings forth the marvelous blessings of heaven, (believe me, I know.) and the Lord wants all of His children to know the eternal joy in service to others. When ye are in the service of your fellow-beings, ye are only in the service of your God.

GRANDBABY #6!!!!! This means another fount of happiness for this uncle. Showing off the “nieces and nephews” section is almost always the highlight of the pictures. I´m sure Mom is complaining day and night about the new grandbaby, to say nothing of the added attention from Addie. The kids around here love the Elders. We were invited to a less-active´s house yesterday, where we were showed by love and fake money by the 5-year old girl who showed us her “daughter”. Cute stuff.

So, the word has come from on high, pretty much. Elder Jarvis will stay in Indaiatuba for the next transfer. This means I´ll be the last companion of Elder Moura, and if things play according to how President Martins wants them, I´ll stay in the area to show the next elder the area, and then, maybe I´ll get transferred again. So, unofficially, I have three more months here. Which is fine, I was thinking that I wasn´t here for very long and had an impression or two that my work here is not done yet. We had a missionary activity with the neighboring ward (which this area sorely needed) and we watched the infamous “17 Miracles”. I had not seen it yet, so I was looking forward to it. It is a story about the Willie Handcart Company, and as it was only available down here in English, it had to be subtitled. The film didn´t lose its impact on the 88 people who came out to watch it. Almost everyone had a wet tissue in hand, and I came close to crying. Powerful film. The evening itself was a miracle, as for the first 30 minutes, everything that could go wrong with the projector, computer, and DVD went wrong. Fortunately, the refreshments were handed out first and so we had enough time to fix the issues. After the film started, it was smooth sailing.

Nothing to report on the baptisms, though prospects are always around the corner. I´ll talk about the Craig Christensen meeting another time. I didn´t do anything particualy exciting on Saturday for the B-Day, but I was alright with that. I did, however, have an enormously powerful study session of the first visit of the Savior to the Nephite nation. Once again, I received a confirmation of the power of the Book of Mormon. I´ve come to a conclusion: Either the Bible and the Book of Mormon are both true, or they are both wrong. They are too inseperably linked to be otherwise.

I appreciate you guys inviting Christine and Elder Dattilo (You may call him John, but it seems too weird for me to call him anything other than “Elder” or “Elder Dattilo” or “Meu Pai na missão.”) Be sure to let him know that I´M the one writing her. Oh, post pictures on Facebook or send them to me. Either way. The members here never end their teasing of me anyway.

Wow, 20 years. It kind of freaked me out that night as I thought about the next 20 years. Then I stopped thinking about it and went to bed. Scared me a little. Unlike my friend, Elder Dattilo, I just said a quick gratitude prayer that night and then went to bed; the next morning rising to do the work that He has comissioned me to do. I´ve kind of forgotten the fact that, about 9 months ago, I didn´t speak a word of Portuguese, I was living comfortably with an amazing family, texting a girl like crazy, and doing the things I usually do. That may or may not include reading a comic, reading a chapter of the Book of Mormon, doing some school work, and going to work. In the past 9 months, I´ve experienced some of the hardships I´d only ever read about in history books. True poverty is something I´ve see and felt. I´ve also passed through many “trials of purifying fire” with some of the best friends I´ll ever have here, and I´ve experienced a taste of the sorrow felt by the prophets of old: the sorrow for the sinds and stiff-neckedness of the world. I´ve felt the frusteration of the waiting period of nothingness, when seemingly no progress has been made.

But, I´ve also learned a few things, not the least of which is a testimony of the divinity of this work. I´ve gained: an everlasting appreciation for a family who works behind closed curtains to see me through (although I´m sure the work is very evident on their side of the world), an wonderful new understanding of the principles I was taught since Primary, many pioneering friends whose stories rival those of the early Saints in the States, and some experiences which are very personal to me that has revealed in a small, but ummistakeable way that these things were, and could not have been, created by the “wisdom” of man. Something extraordinary happens within our hearts when we have truth confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit, when we realize that we knew God before, that we agreed to be subject to the magjestic designs of the Supreme Creator, that there is a power that desires our eternal doom, and that there is a light and life of the world who does more that we will ever comprehend to bring to pass the exaltation of the children of a Father and a Mother. Let us be grateful and count our blessings, one by one, “and it will suprise you what the Lord hath done.”

Eu amo vocês!

Stephen
(Elder Jarvis)

To quote the marvelous Peter: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I´ve been laughing to myself, last year I was working on my birthday, and this year I´ll be working on my birthday. But, this is a different and more fulfilling kind of work, so I´m ok with that.

Speaking of work, we´re fairly proud of ourselves. We only had 28 people missing from Sacrament meeting yesterday, out of 160 people in the ward. Our work this week with the less-actives has really produced some results. We encountered a good modern-day pioneer story, and finally talked with some people that the whole ward has been bgging us to get in contact with. Unfortunately, these people´s excuses (because there is rarely, if ever, a solid reason for going less-active) has been the reception of the ward to them. Elder Moura let the ward council know yesterday that if they want to support us in missionary work, they need to do their part. “If the Savior can´t trust His people to keep the lost sheep in the flock, He´s not going to bother bringing them in.” Harsh as that may sound, there is a truth to that. The work of the members is perhaps the more important part in bringing the people to Christ, so I appreciated Mom´s rescue story. Elder Andersen´s talk is the one I think I loved the most from this conference.

 

Tomorrow, we get a special treat. Elder Craig C. Christensen is visiting the mission tomorrow, and we get to listen to him. I´m fairly excited, but it means that some of our time gets cut tomorrow. Other news: I just finished this afternoon reading Jesus The Christ in Portuguese  Despite the higher language  I was able to understand 90% of it and I was spiritually refreshed by the final 2 chapters, which talk about the restoration and the Second Coming. I´ve been wanting to know about Corbin´s progress for a while. If he´s not careful, I could be home and married before he gets home.

 

Speaking English has its benefits beyond having a cool accent! No, seriously, I´ve had one 9 year old tell me that I should give all the lessons, because I can speak Portuguese “with a cool accent”.

 

Unfortunately, baptisms haven´t been happening, but we´re not discouraged. The Lord just has some other ideas in mind.

 

 Appreciate the news about missionaries, Brayden´s “nutball” session, and about Stuart and Cindy. It usually gets a good laugh here when I mention “Elder Elder.”

So, my thought for the week. I´ve absolutely loved searching through the “Teaching from the Presidents of the Church” books. Though we are not allowed to study them, I do pick up and read one when I´m at a member´s house, at the chapel, or reading in Sunday School about Lorenzo Snow. I have been thinking a lot lately about the things I know for certain. In the last 20 years, what things can I resolutely say I know for certain? I know paying your tithing has always been a thing of safety for me, and I´ve never found myself on the wanting end when I pay it. I know praying can rest the weary soul. I know the knowledge of this gospel can bring peace to our minds. I know temple are sacred houses of the Lord and we may receive orientation when we go there. I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet and an inspired man.

 

But, three things stand out for me that has never been faulting since I made the decision years ago to stick with the church. One, I know (this part is not the “I feel”, but the “I know it like I know my companion is Brazilian” part) that the Book of Mormon is a book that changes lives and I have never felt the same “coming home” feeling like I get from reading the Book of Mormon in reading or going or doing anything else. That feeling that I ALWAYS get makes it clear in my mind that this book is a book from God. Second, I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. The power and authority he taught with burns its mark on the heart of man. His account of the events are true. He saw and spoke with God, the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ. Third, I know that above all churches, this church preaches the word of God. No other church declares with the boldness that we do that Jesus is the Christ and we are His disciples and that we want to help in His work.

 

All of this amounts to one final thing: What about this Jesus, that the prophets testify of? Well, for me, I have repeatedly felt His healing touch, His comforting arm, His stern reproach for my sins, and the true and sure power that desolates all worldly reason that comes through His teachings. He watches over this world and He notices the fall of every sparrow. His works bring me to my knees when I contemplate them all. And the fact that He knows and cares about everyone of us personally is a treasure (a pearl of great price, if you will) that I will never let go.

 

To quote the marvelous Peter: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

 

Let´s go spread that knowledge my brethren!

 

Eu amo vocês!

 

Stephen

(Elder Jarvis) 

This is not my doctrine, but his that sent me

Well, the weather here has been pouring down rain for the last three days. Very wet shoes and very few things to do during the day, but we held out. We had a baptism Saturday…or rather the baptism that Jardim do Vale stole from us!! We have been teaching a 13 year-old named Mateus (Mathew) for a while, and right after the interview, Elder Kubeja (American from Kent or Renton, don´t remember) found that the kid´s parents live in their area. We had been teaching the kid at his uncle´s house, who lives here in Indaiatuba. So, though it was technically their baptism, we can still rejoice. Mateus is playing for the right team now.

We have been progressing in the work a bit. This seems to be a very slow part of the year, so enthusiasm isn´t as high as usual. However, we are still teaching, occasionally finding new people, and making baptismal invites, so I guess I really can´t complain. Three family home evenings this week, one baptism, and surprise reunion with Rick Morris yesterday with his wife at Church. We also gave a blessing to “dear” Tereza Cristina, an older woman whom I believe I´ve mentioned. She speaks English fluently and uses every opportunity to use it with me. She has had some recent eye surgery and some other problems, and while the ward here is filled with wonderful converts, it is still lacking on Home Teachers, so we got to perform the ordinance. Unfortunately, some of our marked baptisms have to be put on hold due to the father losing their home to financial troubles, which stinks to high-heaven. We´ve been working very hard with this family, and now due to this… Yeah, I´m still not happy about that. I got some recent letters, one of which was a Christmas Card from Shelly and Kris. Loved it!

I loved yesterday´s message about Lorenzo Snow in learning the gospel by faith. I recently read an old talk by then Elder Eyring about “Listening Together”. It talks about a 4-step system to by able to get more out of your classes, and all are based on you. I tried it out yesterday, and it seemed to work well. I think the system was developed by George Q. Cannon. I don´t remember exactly; I´ll have to go back and look.

I finished “Broken Things to Mend” by Elder Holland, and the last chapter provided a big thing I really hadn´t thought of before. Jesus always said (in John), “The Son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth the Father do….I and the Father are one…This is not my doctrine, but his that sent me.” In all of his actions, Christ was trying to show us what His Father was like. If you really think about that for a second, you might realize something in a very real way. Jesus is usually characterized as a very loving, merciful person, while the Father is characterized by final judgement wraith and ummovable punishment. However, if you really think about it, Jesus was here as the Father´s representative. So, all he did was what the Father would have done. Blessing the children, healing the sick, raising the dead, correctly false teachings, giving His life for the flock; all these things the Father would have done. To paraphrase the Prophet Joseph, “The Father is more merciful and loving that we are ready to believe or accept.” Just a thought for you the next time you complain about one thing or another. I know I was guilt-tripped once or twice this week because of it. It reminds me of the amzing passage in Moses 7 where Enoch sees the Father weeping because of the wickedness of his children. That´s something you don´t see or hear about in the scriptures except in this part and in the allegory of the Olive-Tree in Jacob.

I believe that the Father has incredible restrant because of the horrible things that happen in this world. Just the things I see in Brazil make me wonder for a moment if Father is watching this, and he is. I imagine the Father is restraining himself so much in so many different times during the history of the Earth because he wants us to be happy. When we commit sin, he weeps. When we say an unkind thing to our brethern, he whinces and weeps a bit more. I´m sure the Father´s throne is engulfed with a river of tears for our sake….and then when after the great and terrible events of the Atonement, the Father´s voice was the loudest rejoicing because his children could now come home. I testify that the Father´s love is so unbounding and so majestic that we would be brought to our knees by the meer comprehension of it. Please don´t give up on him, he will never give up on you.

Eu amo vocês,

Stephen
(Elder Jarvis)

Stay firm, and the Father shall at the end: “Ye shall have eternal life.”

It´s wonderful to hear about the rescue visits. We here, unfortunately, have been having a dry spell of investigators, though I´m sure we can do much better. I gained a testimony about resolutions last night, which I´ll get to in a minute.

A little bird told me that Mommy added a disclaimer about my English on top of one of the blog posts…… Look, the Portuguese words are intentional! No, but seriously. The Lord is helping be fulfill a prophetic promise from one of my brazilian roomates in the MTC: “If you continue your study of the language, like reading from the scriptures and saying your prayers in Portuguese, you will speak better Portuguese than most of the natives.” Yeah, I shrugged that one off until last week when we went out with our WML. He usually gives us notes on teaching ability, but the large part of his notes were about “Words that are correct but the layman doesn´t use.” So, I guess that´s one up for the Lord.

I´m continuing to read the books. I´ve put the biographies away for a bit (after finishing President Monson´s), and have turned to “Broken Things to Mend” by Elder Holland. The opening talk (same name as the book) was instantly one of my favorites. He invites all to come back and be perfected in Christ. The way he says it, it´s a wonder that so many turn away from the teachings of the Church. It is such a healing message and one of hope.

That leads me to my experience last night. After a Sunday of not having investigators at Church and not visiting anyone, I was deeply discouraged. As we were walking back from an improptu visit (1st lesson of the day at 5:00 in the afternoon!), I thought a lot. I remembered some of the promises that the Lord had said in the Doctrine and Convenants: “And in all times and in all places, open thy mouth proclaiming the gospel like with the sound of a trump, and there shall be a force given unto him that is not known among men.” (I´m translating here. The real scripture is in D+C: 24) I decided to do just that. I opened my mouth. We invited one of our failing investigators to a FHE (a tough 13 year-old who thinks more of soccer and video games than respecting his suffering mother), and then we went to one of my favorite families here.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about a man named Luiz. Suffice to say, his situation for the last few weeks has been terrible. Saturday night was his B-Day and he thankfully received his children back for a time. They will be traveling back and forth between their Mom´s and their Dad´s (divorce sucks!!!), and so, this weekend was a rare opportunity to teach the family together. I took the lead and began the Plan of Salvation (Lesson #2). That immense, heavy, peaceful silence that is so specific to the Sprit filled the room. I acted on the intention to re-extend the invite to baptism. To my wonderful surprise, Luiz accepted. I then turned to Gulia (said like Julia) and invited her, and then her little brother, Enzo. These two wonderful kids (11 and 9, respectively) asked that, instead of waiting for the 26th, that they be baptized on the 19th. I couldn´t have felt more lighter at that moment. This was a situation that I, a few months ago, would have dismissed and continued onward. However, I felt at the beginning that this story should have a happy and it would.

I can´t thank my Savior enough for providing with a family like Luiz´s a true hope. With the sure light of the Gospel and the knowledge of “things as they really are”, one cannot help but have within his soul a certainty that “all is well.” Beyond this, I have to thank my Father in Heaven who, in the midst of all this pain and suffering inflicted by the enemy, cares enough to stay his hand and allow us to be proven. We must try to obtain his heavenly vision of our trials and sufferings, and even our joys. The trials and sufferings are fleetling, while the joys are maginified when viewed through the lens of the Father. There is so much more waiting for us in this gospel, and thank the Lord for establishing a church to help us reap the benefits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Eu amo vocês!

Stephen
(Elder Jarvis)

God doesn’t forget or abandon us

It was wonderful to talk to you guys. I was absolutely delighted to have Shelly and Natalie join us. I was sorry that it still was fairly hectic, but I wouldn´t have traded it for anything in the world. Seeing the nieces and nephews was too awesome. The “Mugged” joke was priceless. I´m only sorry that Joe didn´t participate as much, but I guess that was because of work. Speaking of work, we have had some setbacks (mostly because everybody is traveling or doesn´t want to disrupt their precious family time with intrudors). However, we still managed to mark 2 baptisms for the 12th. We also received a new Gospel Pricinples teacher, who is a dear older brother who spent years as a temple sealer. I find in his prescence the sweet spirit I feel around the older members of the Church (especially around Papa-Dee), that of the satisfaction of being involved in the Lord´s service. I so want that same spirit around me when I reach my 70´s.

 

I have been fairly dilligent in reading the books (always waiting until my work for the day is done, of course), and I have finished the Disciple book by Maxwell and have just started the Apostle section of President Monson´s biography. Like I said before, President Monson truly is a prophet of God and we could all learn a thing or two from him, especially in reaching out to others within our faith and without. Yeah, we´ll have a few scattered slideshows of where I went and what I did here. I´m thinking one or two transfers a day or so when I get back. I´ve felt a longing for the temple recently, and although it´s not part of our calling, I still miss the opportunities to go to the temple at will. Sometimes, I feel like I need the gudiance and blessings of the temple, but the Lord has been kind enough to not require it for the work here. That´s a tall order, especially when you consider that the majority of us are under 21 and have to keep our minds focused on the work. I would say: the time that you spend away from a blessing makes you appreciate it that much more. Perhaps that´s why some of the strongest people in the church are converts and some of the most-resistant less actives are people born into the church. That is not to say that this is a unversially true thing, or even a generally true thing. It´s just a thought.

 

I´ve been struck recently by a scripture in 2 Corinthians where Paul says: “For God loves a cheerful giver.” We have been assigned a list of “Faith-building” scriptures by President Matrins that we are to read twice a day. I decided that for language study that I would find out some words from the scriptures that I didn´t know, and the best place to do this is looking in the English Bible. It´s talking about those who sow the most, reap the most as well. But we must do it with cheerfulness, otherwise it will seem like an unecessary burden.

 

Another thought I had was a section of obedience in Preach My Gospel that describes the commandments as “instructions for a happy life.” I was reminded of a rabbi who once said: 

“Some people think that God, being allpowerful and the creator of worlds, wouldn´t care that you don´t eat ham. Some people think that God doesn´t care if your lungs are black. ‘With the cares of the universe at hand, how could God possibly have time or concern for the specifics of life, like what you eat, who you meet, or what concerns you this day?’ These people forget that God is our Father. A true father always has time and concern for His children. I don´t believe that making the universe work is God´s priority. I believe that His children, scattered on a sinful Earth, would be the one thing that God always has time for. Or else, why do we pray if God doesn´t take time to listen? I consider it a blessing and a wonder that God cares enough about what I put into my body to issue a commandment telling me it´s a bad thing.” (I did a lot of paraphrasing here)

 

I believe this as well. God doesn´t forget or abandon us. On the contrary, His continuing commandments and the fact that He listens to our prayers that He always has his eyes on us and our happiness. “For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Everything He does is for us and our benefit. He wouldn´t do the things He does if it didn´t have some eternal purpose to it. I hope we never forget that. For this, we must tell our friends and neighbors about it. Many believe in God only because it is their tradition. People tend not to like to do things that is contrary to what they have been doing for a long time. Those who truly seek Father will come to have that “hope for a better world” because they will have faith in the promise that He never forsakes us. It will be “an anchor for the soul” for the stormy waves of life. But remember through these trials of life and the storms of the adversary: you are in the safety of the Master, the God who once said in a small fishing bost: “Peace, be still.” 

 

Eu amo vocês!

 

Stephen

(Elder Jarvis) 

The world wants peace? Follow the Prince! The King of Kings, and The Lord of Lords!

So, since I had two packages, I decided to open the “Stocking” one today and the other tomorrow morning. I cried, guys. Seriously. It was more than I dared hoped for. $60 a package is expensive and I´ve been lucky enough to get 4 this year. Thanks so much, all of you. I wrote Gen´s birthday letter today, and I´m soooooooooooo ashamed to admit that I let the time get carried away, so I have yet to write Dad´s birthday letter. SOOOOO Sorry. Bad missionary! Bad, bad, bad, bad! Especially after I received three letters this transfer from Dad. Oh, yes. We will have long talks in Spring 2014, Dad. You have my word. You´re welcome to join in on a few, Mom. A very special thank-you to the ward! I was so touched to get your signatures and well-wishes, especially since I didn´t expect it coming. I love you all. Also, you know how the Relief Society doesn´t like empty shelfs? So, the dear, dear sisters of the ward put together a basket for me and my companion. Yep, another touching moment, and I couldn´t be restrained from thanking each and everyone I could.

My “new” companion is Elder Moura from Acre. He is heading home in March. He is just fine, and loves the “profound” doctrine stuff. He has a copy of the old Joseph Smith´s Teachings book complied by President Fielding Smith in Portuguese  Apparently, it has the King Follet Sermon. Yeah, I´m looking for any opportunity to steal that and read it. I´m so glad to hear about Corbin. Corbin, listen to Dad and try to learn from him. I wouldn´t be out here without his support, and if you want to feel the spirit of missionary work, spend some time around Dad. Oh, I don´t have Christine´s home address, so I sent the letter to the house. You know what to do.

This morning, I watched “On the Lord´s Errand” (President Monson´s bio) and I starting crying 10 minutes in. What an example of love, service, and thoughtfulness  Remember what one man said, “If you want an example of righteous living, keep your eye on the prophet.” (Yes, Dad. I do read your letters. Every one, and some of them multiple times) I absolutely love watching and listening to our prophet. A few months back, I was talking to my good friend, Elder Wilson and I mentioned my way to remember the First Presidency back in 1997. Gordon was the biggest, Thomas was my favorite, and James was the other one. Ironically, this was also how I remembered some of the trains of Thomas the Tank Engine. Oh, yes, Mom. I had the biggest grin on my face when I saw the stickers!

Anyways, President Monson is the Lord´s servant. There is nothing that he will do that will be contrary to the will of the Lord. He has been well prepared for the call, and when he speaks as the prophet, you can be assured that it is the Lord speaking through him. When he announced back in October about the reduction in age for missionary service, it was the same as if Christ came to us and said, “Thus saith the Lord…”

This week, I saw acts of service and I´m happy to say that I performed some. The look in a nine year old´s eyes to know he has a friend and that friend is helping his father get away from drugs is a look that I will never forget. It is similar to the look I see when Katie comes home to Grandma´s, or the look of a child sitting in Primary, or the look of a man kneeling in front of me and my companion – begging for hope and relief and finding the Gospel. It is the look of hope. Hope is not a fragile thing. When the world mocks us for keeping our standards or believing in Christ, it is faith and hope that keeps us going. When we hope for something, it is not the hope that MAYBE it might happen. It is the anticipation for the healing and happiness that comes from the Gospel. To paraphrase Elder Maxwell (thanks for the book!), the gospel is not a collection of feel-good statements thrown together; it is a beautiful, simple, and yet powerful and awe-inspiring way to obtain that happiness that our Father in Heaven so longs to bless us with.

This time, almost approaching 8 months, has convinced me more and more of the certainty of these things. I long for the day when I will not be lead by the world to disbelieve in these things. I have seen evidences of the reality of God´s eternal plan, and the almost magical change that comes from discipleship. I want you all to know that there is no true way to lasting satisfaction about this life and your works except though following the Redeemer´s footsteps. The world wants peace? Follow the Prince! The King of Kings, and The Lord of Lords! God be thanked for his Son.

We´ll talk tomorrow.

Eu amo vocês!

Stephen

(Elder Jarvis)