Training Week 2!

Saludos a todos mis queridos seres!

We had a very nice week over here in Rivera, Uruguay. 

We visited a less active Sister, Sister Furtado. Her family right now is less active because they are busy on Sundays helping out the Brother Furtados family, because they are going through some stuff right now. Anyway, she explained to us that she has a strong testimony of the gospel, but right now, she has decided to put her family first. We were able to explain to her that if we obey God, and partake of the Sacrament every Sunday, we would be even more blessed and our families would be helped in extrordinary ways!

After, we had a great lesson with the DaCuña family, (the wife is less active) on family prayer and how important it really is. This week, we will work alot with the Sister to bring her back to church to enjoy the fulness of the gospel!

We were also able to visit Gabriela this week. We taught her the simple message of the Doctrine of Christ and she prayed in front of us to know that the Book of Mormon was true. We will stop by later today for another visit!

We taught Jorge the Plan of Salvation and he had alot of great questions! We know he has a family and we really want to get to know them so we can present this beautiful message to them all and help them understand that they can truly be together forever. 

We taught Sacias, who is stuggling with tobacco. We taught him about the Priesthood of God and how he can posses it, if he becomes worthy to do so. And he loved it. He has a sincere desire now to change and receive this power of God. 

On Friday, the Sister missionaries in my district set up a baptismal interview for their investigator, and for the first time, I had the opportunity to conduct a baptismal interview! And it was an incredible, spiritual experience. Her name is Nabia Vasquez, and she told me her whole conversion story which is incredible. The Spirit was strong, and I knew by the end that she was ready to be baptized the next day. 

The sister missionaries had also asked me for a blessing to help them work better, and especially with the language. I gave Hermana Barrios a blessing in Spanish, to have her be able to help her new companion learn Spanish. Then Elder Pulsipher, (my Californian bro) gave Hermana Chapman a blessing in English to help her with the language. It was an incredible experience and since then, we have seen miracles in their communication skills. Within a day.

On Saturday, we were invited to the baptism and it was a wonderful experience. And that concludes a great week over here in Rivera! I know this church is the true church of Jesus the Christ. I know it. I live it. I love it. 

Elder Teloma

Ruiz

We meet again

This is someone´s house in Brazil

Seriously

Training!!!

Hey!!!
So on Wednesday at 12:30am, I traveled the whole country to pick up my brand new companion in Montevideo!I arrived to Montevideo at 7:30am and met the other missionaries who were going to train. We all took taxis to the Montevideo Temple and met our new companions who had just come from the airport!
And......I am going to train ELDER RAMOS!!!! WHOO. He is the coolest missionary ever! He came prepared. He is a great guy to be around and we will be learning alot together these next 3 months! We spent the afternoon over there in Montevideo and had a great time getting to know eachother! Then we went to the bus station and took our 7 hour bus ride back home to Rivera (:

On Thursday, we had the first district meeting of the change! Aaaaand I have the exact same district!!! Every single missionary in my district is training!!!! (or being trained) It is super awesome! We had a great district meeting where we had the opportunity to get to know eachother and all that good stuff!!

Friday, we got to WORK. We had a lesson with the Gonzalez family, that is less active. And it was an incredible lesson. The older daughter Angelica has been less active for a while now, and when I asked her why she chose to get baptized last year, she said she wanted to set an example for her daughter. We were reading 2nd Nephi 31:10. And she nearly quoted verse :5 without reading it. So I asked her to read verse :5 and her face was priceless. She was in shock. It was a spiritual moment. We also visited Gabriela (an investigator)!! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation. It was a great lesson. Before we even shared the lesson, she explained to us some of her beliefs about Adam and Eve, and the plan, and it is exaclty what we believe and teach! We are NOT accountable for Adam and Eve´s transgression!

On Saturday, we met Jesus Escobar! He is the brother of a member from my last ward Cerro 16!!!! We met him and he is a solid guy who knows what he wants! I extended the baptismal invitation to him and he accepted it!
Then we had an exceptional lesson with Jorge. This is a guy we met last week (in his 40s) and he listened to us. We came back Saturday, gave him a book of Mormon, and explained it. He actually showed alot of interest. We shared with him the moment that Jesus told all to get baptized. I then extended him the baptismal invitation, and he ACCEPTED it!! There is still alot to do, but we are super happy and excited to work with this son of God.

And that was the close to an exceptional week in the Lord´s vineyard. I can literally feel my testimony growing each day. As I sacrifice, my love for the people and this work grows. I love it here!

Elder Teloma

The street is Uruguay. The houses are in Brazil. 

Elder Ramos!

Rivera 2015

Happy 2015!
This year is going to be GREAT.

So on Tuesday of last year, we had a great lesson on the commandements with Fidel. He is accepting the Gospel even more every time we pass by and this Saturday he will be baptized! After a great lesson with this son of God, we stopped by Mirtha! We taught and gave her a Book of Mormon! She was like "Can I....can I write my name in it?" And I was like "Why yes. Yes you can." And with the biggest smile on her face, she wrote her name in it and said "Now it´s mine. And I am going to read it!" She also invited us to lunch another day and she´s not even a member!! After Mirtha we left to find an someone who was an investigator 5 years ago. We had the information to where she lived. He name is Gabriela. However when we went to the house, they informed us that Gabriela no longer lived there but lives "right around the corner down the street"....No address... so I knocked someones door, an older lady came out, and I asked her if she knew Gabriela. She said yes. "That is my daughter. But she doesn´t live here. She lives down there." And I was like "What the heck!?!?!" What does down there mean?!?! So we walked further down the street and I looked at a house and I heard a voice within myself say "It´s that house." But I didn´t believe it, so I talked to the people across that house and asked if they knew Gabriela. "Oh yeah, she lives right across the street!".... I will never doubt again. We found her daughter who told us to come back Saturday!

On Wednesday we were walking down the street and I saw a dirty, fat dog eating a pile of fruit on the ground. It was making a weird noise, but I ignored it and kept walking. Then I stopped and said "Wait a minute...." I turned around, got a better look and IT WAS A PIG!!!!! I ran up to it. Pet it and took pictures with it! I LOVE PIGS. And I haven´t seen one for ages!
Also we did divisions. I worked with Elder Pulsipher from Temecula, California!!!!!!! Who is also a BYU Football player! Love that guy. We had a great day, last day of the year! Definitely unforgettable. For the last minutes of the Lord´s work of 2014, we went to visit a less active member who was feeling horrible. With faith and hope in his heart he asked us to give him a blessing. However before, we sang a hymn. As we sang the Spirit filled the room. Tears filled his eyes as he listened to us. After, Elder Pulsipher gave him a blessing. We talked with him and his family, then left. It was an incredible way to end the year.

On Thursday morning, NEW YEARS, we watched thousands of fireworks light up the sky. The best part was being able to watch fireworks go off in TWO countries!!
But yeah, we had a great zone meeting, but it started storming after. The first day of the year and it was heavy rains and heavy storms. Just lovely. We worked anyway, because the Lord´s work doesn´t stop. We taught another investigator, Jaquelina, the Plan of Salvation and she loved it! Only taught up to the Atonement and said we would finish the plan the next time we come. I asked her "Do you have any questions?" "No, but I want to know what happens after death!!!" Haha it was funny, we talked just a minute about it then told her we would be back to explain the rest of God´s great plan.

Friday was incredible. We stopped by a less active member who only speaks Portugese. Her name is Claudia. At the end of our lesson, she promised us she would return to church!! It was great. We then left to work with Brother Varela who is a stud!! He is 80 but he works. However.... yeah. So as we were walking from one lesson to another Brother Varela pulled some tiny leaves off a tree and ate them. He put them in his mouth and he ate them. It was disgusting. But he had the biggest smile on his face and said "MMMMMM, these are good." So I just laughed.

On Saturday, we found Gabriela (refer to Tuesday)!!!! Incredible lady! She couldn´t believe that we found her after 5 years! So we taught her the Restoration and it went well! We also taught Mirtha and gave her a baptismal challenge and date and she accepted!! WHOO!!

The work here just gets better and better! I love this work with all my heart. I love the people here in Rivera, Uruguay. Oh heck, I even love the people right next door in Brazil. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and know that it isn´t easy living the Gospel. But it´s worth it.
Elder Teloma

Its just eating like...dirty fruit

Rivera!

2015