This has been the strangest week on my mission where there has been the most heartache, most joy, and the most disapointment feeling as if we let someone else down.
On new year's eve we met the mom of a member we wanted to start teaching. She is older, but really cool. She really warmed up to us and the members said that is good since she was against the church a little while ago. We didn't talk a lot about the gospel, but it was nice. We ate the traditional portuguese bachalhau.
On Tuesday we went to go and teach our family. They are part of my family, the little girl drew pictures for us and Filipa showed us proofs that she was praying and reading the scriptures. They are the most elect family that I know. They took us into Porto so we could catch a bus to lisbon. That night we stayed in the mission home and it was the first night in a long time that I haven't woken up feeling like an old man. In Foz our mattresses are terrible. Mine is hard as a rock and elder Harvey's is like a hammock when you sit on it. I have been annyoying the mission office to get us new ones. Irmã Fluckiger is the nicest lady you can imagine she went out and made sure that all of us were nice and warm and had enough blankets and made sure we ate a good breakfast the next morning It is one of those times you miss having a mom.
On wednesday we were in Lisbon in a conference. President Fluckiger is getting us ready for the new year. in 2012 there were roughly 1300 baptisms in Portugal. That night we went back to Foz de Douro. We were able to report that we are having record high frequencies in our sacrament meeting. sunday the 30th we had 31 people, the first time in a year that we had over 30 without a ton of stake leaders present. We have also reactivated a family of four where the dad is a mel. preisthood holder.
On thursday I went to Póvoa on a division whrere we got to teach some of the references anita gave Póvoa. Anita is the lady I baptized in Braga and I knew them. All in all, they are progressing. Some of my investigators in Braga that are going to be baptized soon knew I was going to be there and came down to Póvoa to see me. Meanwhile in Foz, Filipa accepted all of the commandments.
Friday morning, Filipa called and said she was done with us, and said that she didn't want us back in her house. Aparently the pressure got to her and her mom refuses to speak with her. I literally cried at the loss of this family that was progressing so well. Later that day a member from another ward called us and told us to be at our chapel at 4 o'clock, so we went and he brought a family for us to teach. He taught them about the beattitudes, and didn't let us say a thing. We then had dinner with carlos Santos later that night. That night we both cried and did what was even harder to do, thank god for our trials and the blessing we had to teach them.
Saturday we went over and finally found Filipa. She mixed all of our words around to the point where her kids realized she wasn't making any sense. I am sad that they wouldn't accept it because of her mom, but I am happy to say that I can say I fought a good fight and did everything we could to help her realize the problem. In the end I know it isn't the end of the story that everyone wants, but we did our best. Right after that we marked a guy named carlos for baptism that Elder Harvey found on thursday.
sunday we were blessed to have 5 investagators at church and most of them are progressing. We have a brasillian girl that we haven't been able to teach yet that has been to church 2 times and is super elect!!! we found her 9 days ago and she just went to church on the first invite without a lesson. Yesterday she brought all of her roomates except one, including the less active roomate that hasn't been to church in months. A guy named João come to church. He is the craziest guy I have ever met, but he is smart, and wants to be baptized.
Elder Hope
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