Chapter 29 How Great Shall Be Your Joy

There is nothing in this world that can compare with the joy of seeing people change their lives to serve and follow Christ. Our friend Cristina followed the example of Jesus and entered into the waters of baptism this week, and I can´t remember feeling happier than I did that day. I didn't know it, but I had a friend here in Alverca that I needed to find, because Heaven for me includes Cristina.

As always, there is opposition in all things. As this was a week in which we baptized, we also were faced will all sorts of challenges. For me, it was aw always a mental and emotional battle, that finally ended today when I realized that the mission has become like the plan of salvation for me. I've been trying so hard to focus on the work that I placed something of a "veil of forgetfulness" over my mind, and forgot that there was life before the mission, and there will be life after! I thought that thinking about either of those two things would distract me, but the work ended up just feeling like drudgery. I then thought about our mortal life in the plan of God, and whether or not thinking about the pre-mortal life or post-mortal life distract us from our work. Though it is possible to get stuck dreaming of our mansion above, learning about our past and future lives is more for encouraging us and reminding us why were are doing our work here in the first place. I thought thinking about my family was something bad, but I've found that remembering them gives me strength to press forward and determination to help unite and seal other families like mine (though to be honest, it is unlikely that anyone will find another family as great as mine).

Well, that was pretty much my week. I got to give a talk in church Sunday (my first talk in Portuguese during a church meeting) and it was pretty good. I also had a strange experience one night, when Elder Buarque was asking me questions about my past, and somehow we got talking about statistics, I realized that I would really like to do a statistics project right now. I never thought I would miss mathamatics.

Anyway, have a great week everyone!

Elder Lofthouse

Chapter 28 Technical Difficulties

I hope me not having time isn´t become cliché. I don´t have time to write because we have to go resolve technical dificulties in our house. We woke up today without electricity.

Anyway, I love you all! Miracles are real! You don´t have to have a perfect knowledge to obey God´s commands! Maybe I´ll explain this more later. 

Fiquem bem!

Elder Últimaquartadecasa (Irmão Jackson´s translation of my name in Portuguese)

Chapter 27 - Spirit War

Hello, world! I feel like it´s been a week since I talked with you. And it was a pretty packed week.

I was always told that being a missionary was difficult. I never doubted this. When I got here, I learned for myself that we can´t use words to describe how difficult it is. But then, as the weeks went by, I got better at being a missionary, almost reaching the point that I felt comfortable with the work. And so, of course, it was time for something more. I don´t know if being a senior companion alone is very hard, but being a trainer without ever having been a senior companion has been a greatly humbling experience. Luckily, Elder Buarque is a great missionary already.

In the midst of this spiritual war, I have had many oppurtunities to feel and recognize the Spirit. It is really the best feeling I´ve ever felt. We ought to seek the companionship of the Spirit everyday. He will help us through this war.

We had to ride the train to Benfica this week, and so I had a good amount of time to read the Book of Mormon. I read the stories of the people of King Limhi, and the people of Alma, both who were subjegated by the lamanites and forced to labor under heavy burdens. The people of king Limhi went up to battle several times to free themselves, and because of this many of them died. But then, in verses 13 and 14,

" And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submittingthemselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies. And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions."

Once they were humble, they were delivered. The people of Alma humbled themselves much quicker, and didn´t have to suffer the same death before. These stories teach two things. First, humility is needed to recieve help from Heaven, and second, we can humble ourselves when troubles arise, or we can struggle alone for awhile until we chose to be humble.

This is just a little thought, but humility truly something I need a little more of. Alma the younger once asked, if we died today, would we be able to say that we had been sufficiently humble? I´m going to study this a little more this week, and I´ll let you know what I find.

I love you all!

Elder Lofthouse

Chapter 26 - In House

I don´t know why, but I just don´t really want to write much today.

I´m training a new missionary that just got here this week. His name is Elder Buarque. He´s from São Paulo, and he doesn´t speak English. It´s pretty great. We´re having a good time working here in Alverca.

So, Elder Buraque wants to learn English, and one of the things that Preach My Gospel suggests to help with this is to speak English when we´re in our house, and the mission language in the street. Yesterday, I decided to ask him if he wanted to start doing that, but to be clever I decided to ask in English. And so I asked, "We want to start speaking English in house?" I then stopped and thought about how that phrase was gramatically correct in Portuguese, but that in English, it just wasnt right. Elder Buarque looked at me confused and asked me what I said. I, in Portuguese, replied, "I can´t teach you English. I don´t remember how it works." I feel fine writing in English, but earlier this week we had to teach a lesson in English and I struggled! The placement of words in English is just so difficult now! It´s great really, that my Portuguese is overruling my English, but it´s also a little strange.

Yeah, I don´t know what´s wrong with me right now, but I just don´t have anything to say. This week was good. I learned and grew. It was good. We should never be ashamed to talk about the Gospel.

Anyway, have a good week everyone! Take some time to search the scriptures, and if you do as Abraham did (see Abr 1:2) and study so that you can be a better follower of righteousness, God will show you things you never imagined before.

I love you all!

Elder Lofthouse​

Chapter 26 1/2 - Repentance

After I sent that last email, I felt bad because I didn´t even put anything worth reading in there. The least I can do is go on a little doctrinal rant.

I was studying being a member of Christ, and I ended up in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, and it is just full of great stuff. Paul compares the church to the body, explaining that, of necessity, the members are all different. "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?" (v. 17) I was thinking of this in context of the mission organization. If all were the APs, who would be the missionaries that spend all day working in the field? If all were the Zone Leaders, who would be the new missionaries, whose "greenie fire" and faith bring so many miracles to the field? "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." (v. 27) We are all members in the Church of Christ, each with a unique role to play. We can´t all be the same, but it´s better this way, because everyone has different gifts. So we can´t think that any one isn´t important, and that includes ourselves. Each one of us has a unique role to fulfill, that no other member can. Sometimes we think that if we don´t do our part, some one else will fill in for us, but an eye can´t smell if the nose chooses not to, and the mouth can´t walk if the legs give in early. No, we can´t sirk from our duty, but instead we should remember, "that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." (v 25-26) And how is it that we fulfill our special role to the best of our ability? "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." (v.31). If we earnestly seek to develop our spiritual gifts, the Lord will guide us in our use of them, and we as a church, as the people of God, will function as perfectly as the immortal body of the ressurected Lord Jesus Christ.

I love you all, and hope that this email is a little more meaning full than the last!

Elder Lofthouse