I am going to be transfered

So the transfers came in and turns out that the two of us our going to be transfered.  At first I was really sad to be leaving the area and all my friends that I have made.  At the same time though it will be a good new start and I am really excited to be going to a new area to make new friends and do good things.  After 7 months in the same area it will be really strange to leave.  If I have the chance I would love to return here one day and visit everyone again.  It was honestly such a great experience to be able to serve in Ferraz.  I feel like I have learned and grown a lot in my time here.  I hope that I made at least a small impact on the members here and helped them out.  I am ready to go to a new area and to do my very best.  I dont have a whole lot of time left on my mission and I want to finish out strong.  I am grateful for the trials that I have been given and because of them I have been able to grow and become closer to my Heavenly Father.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

We can learn from all the experiences we have

This week was really interesting for us.  My companion ended up getting sick and the presidents wife told us to stay in until he gets better.  This was dificult for me and I did not enjoy it one bit.  We were able to leave only a couple days this week but even that was hard for him because of all the hills that are in our area.  He asked me Elder why am I sick when I’m doing the Lords work and keeping the comandments?  I told him I don’t know but the one thing I do know is that there is always somthing to learn from every experience we have whether it is a good one or bad one.  If we make a mistake and sin clearly its not a good thing but we can do one of two things.  We can be sad and do nothing or we can learn from our mistake repent and do better.  I also had the chance to give a little talk this Sunday.  I got a call early Sunday morning asking if I could give a talk and I accecpted.  I talked about the Lords timing and plan for us.  Sometimes its very different than what we want and what we are expecting.  I told the story about the canoe trip I went on and how we wanted to leave before the group of girls because they took forever and slowed us down.  We planned everything even got up earlier the next day but for whatever reason we let them go in front of us.  About 2 hours later we found them trapped on the side because their canoes tipped along with all their food and equipment.  It was in the Lords plan that we did not leave before them even when we wanted to really bad.  Who knows if anyone else would have have passed by them that day to help out and probably they would have been stuck for days.  I know that a lot of time we want things to go our way and we want answers fast but we need to remember the will of God is different.  Thanks for the love and support.

 

Love Elder Visser

We never know who is ready for the gospel and who is not

Happy Fathers day and thanks for the example that you are to me and our family.  Because of you and mom leading the way for us a lot of other people had the chance to hear and accept the gospel.  I’m glad that the warriors ended up winning.  How are the Dodgers doing and the rest of the baseball league?  

 

We had a great week.  It started on Saturday when we had our conference for the families of our branch.  They put together a choir and it turned out really well.  Sunday morning was our Branch conference and we filled up the sacrament room.  Yes there were a ton of people from the stake but it was still a cool thing to see.  After church we were able to have the baptism for Deived which was really special.  We have been working with him for about 2 months now and he is really special.  He learns really quick and is always wanting to know more.  He was super happy and at the end thanked everyone who were at the baptism.  Now our goal is to get him to go to institute.  This will help him out a ton more to learn and grow.  It was funny because he was a referral that we received from a member and the first contact we had with him was in the street and after I asked the member to invite him to take the discussions the member said no because he already has a church and will never accept the church.  Two months later and an answer from our Heavenly Father he was baptized.  We never know who is ready and who is not.  Its our purpose to open our mouths and at the minimum invite.  Thanks for the love and support.

 

Love Elder Visser

I am glad I am on a mission doing what is right.

We had a good productive week.  We were able to work hard and were able to see a lot of fruits because of it.  We got word form the area presidency that all wards in Brasil will have to have sacrament first than classes after.  I was a little worried because were always passing by people to walk with them to church.  Some times we walk a good hour to get people that have never been before.  We left extra early to get people and we ended up arriving only a few minutes late but everything turned out good. We also had 9 people attend church with us which was great to see.  We are working with a lot of great humble people who honestly want to make a difference in their lives.  I’m grateful to be able to still be here working with the members and investigators.  It is not an easy thing to deal but the reward is worth it.  I’m grateful for the good times and the hard times.  I’m glad that I am on a mission doing what is right.  Thanks for all the love and support!

 

Love Elder Visser

When we ask for help from the Lord everything turns out right in the end

The transition with a new companion is always interesting.  The first week is a little strange because you don’t know too much about him or how he teaches.  Personally I’m not a big fan of transfers and I always get super nervous.  At the same time though transfers are done by revelation from our mission president and it’s always a good chance to learn and grow.  That being said the first week was a good one, I won’t lie it had its challenges but there is always something to learn.  My companion is excited to be here and ready to work.  He likes to work hard and get things done so for me I’m happy and ready to do what needs to be done this transfer.

 

We have been helping a kid named Lucas prepare for baptism for about 2 months now and he is super special and really prepared.  We planned for two Sundays ago but something happened and we had to push it to last Saturday.  When Saturday got here we went to go get him and his family and he came to the door all sad and said he wants to wait a little longer to be baptized.  We stayed and talked with him while everyone was waiting at the church and it turns out that his sister in law was telling him lies that put doubts in is mind.  At the end he asked if he could be baptized on Sunday so we marked it for Sunday.  Sunday morning we went to go get him and no one answered the door, we called and did everything but nothing.  So what I learned is that Satan really knows out weaknesses,  He knew Lucas´s weakness and mine as well.  I also learned that we need to understand God´s timing.  I was super sad about this but after thinking about it I believe he will still be baptized, it might take a little longer but that's alright.  We need to do whats right and then let the Lord handle the rest.  Sorry about the really long story but that's what I learned this week.  We are given challenges to learn and grow, and even to test our faith sometimes.  When we ask for help from the Lord everything turns out right in the end.

 

Love Elder Visser