Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Peter was Transferred and is ZL again!



Hey Mom and Family,                 7-17-12
Thanks for the email!  So this week was a crazy last week.  I got transferred yesterday and was put as a zone leader again.  I’m in Progresso now.  It's an area that I’ve practically already passed through.  Remember when I was in Ponte and lived in 4?  It's the area that's attached to Progresso, so imp back in the same house that I had lived in 7 months back serving in an area right above where I served last time.  It's gonna be cool, because I think im gonna have an opportunity to see some people that I baptized there in Ponte.  The bad thing is that I left my greenie there in the ghetto with another elder to finish his training.  Last week was tough cuz Luiz Felipe fell through on the very last day.  He had never been to church but wanted to baptize on the 15th.  So we had settled with him that he could baptize if went to church.  He didn’t go to church.  We stopped by there 3 times on Sunday, once at 8 (when we called) at 8:50, and at 10:20.  Church was starting at 9 and sacrament meeting at 11.  At the last time my companion had found him there at home, and said he'd go.  So he went back inside to 'change clothes', 45 minutes later he still hadn’t showed up so my comp just left.  We had to stop by there later to tell him that he couldn’t get baptized.  It was the weirdest thing.  It was the first time I had to do that, usually I’m the one trying to tell them why they should get baptized.  Anyways, my zone leader burnt me that night, and it made me mad cuz he didn't have any authority to do that.  He said that if it were his area he would've baptized him, even though there's a rule saying that they need to go to church first, and he doesn’t have the keys to say when someone’s ready in my area.  I’m gonna miss my area though.  Even though I didn't baptize we had some really good youth in the ward that imp gonna miss, I want to ask the president to go back there and spend my last transfer there.  Anyways, I don't know how or why they put me as a zone leader again.  I didn’t baptize anyone.  It'll be cool to get the new president though.  Today we went to the temple again.  It was great.  While we were waiting for the bus that went from the temple to the city we started talking to this 83 year old guy that was leaving the temple as well.  He was a funny guy that was making fun of black people.  He really liked me I guess cuz he gave me his watch that he was wearing.  It's a pretty nice analog one too that glows in the dark.  I didn’t even ask for it, he asked me if I have a watch and I said no, so he gave it to me.  Cool huh?  Blessings of being a missionary I guess.  My new companion's great.  He's pretty funny and was laughing the whole time the guy was talking to us.  His names Elder Duffy, and he's from Seattle.  This is going to be a great transfer!  Pray for us that we can baptize!  Love you!
Elder Williams

Hey Dad and Family,     7-17-12

Thanks for the email, im getting impressed with your Portuguese, if I didn’t know any better I'd say you put it into Google translator, but I’d like to think it's from you Portuguese studies.  As far as the German goes, it's going good but these past 3 days I’ve had to stop due to all the stuff I’ve had to do.  Unfortunately as ZL you have a lot more time killing responsibilities like calling and fallowing up our missionaries.  I have a feeling it's going to be hard to study with another companionship living with us.  But my premonition was correct, I totally got transferred.  So in answer to your question, usually the standard is that the investigator has to watch 2 sacrament meetings.  And as soon as they stop smoking/drinking they can get baptized. They don't need to pay tithing till after their baptism as well.  They need to have a baptismal interview as well.  The quickest I've seen is a baptism in 2 days of finding someone.  But this person had already gone to church in the past, but had just stopped after a while.  My quickest would have been last week which would've been 7 days, but he fell through.  My current record is 8 days.  This was that week that we went to Minas Gerais, so technically less days, because we were in another state for 4 days, but the Lord did his part there and per day it was 8.  Last transfer I feel like I really learned patience.  My companion was great but he was just a very weird guy.  He likes cats and to crochet if that gives you an idea.  But I also feel like I learned how to love, and I think it's prepared me for this transfer and that it will help me in my leadership needs.  So I don't really know my president at all.  I shook his hand on Tuesday and that's about it.  But I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna have an opportunity to get to know him this transfer.  So things are going good here imp pretty excited to work.  Pray for us to baptize!  We're hoping to baptize a girl named Lene.  Ask everyone to pray for her to receive her answer about the book of Mormon and baptism.  She says that she believes that the church is true but she just can’t make the connection between that and baptizing in it.  She’s a member’s wife.  Anyway, I hope things are going good over and up there.  How’s the fish that you and mom caught?  Anyways, love you dad! 

Elder Williams

PS.  Nice pictures Dad! I'm totally going to slide down Shasta, you'll just have to carry me up; I’ll lose some weight I promise.


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