Well Thanksgiving was very, very wonderful! I wrote in my journal that night for quite a while to really capture the things I was thinking and feeling. I've never had a Thanksgiving that was so wonderful, and it felt silly writing that and as I looked at pictures of our family all together, I was questioning if my Thanksgiving was really as great as I thought it was. But I know it was, because amidst many more things that could have potentially made it sad, I was so very, very happy on Thursday. I loved thinking about you all together and I felt a little bit of the excitement of the season in my heart as I thought of you throughout last week. Thank you for sending the pictures I really did love them Mommy.
When we were standing around and Irma Silvia was filming me and Bishop went into the other room, I had a feeling something was going on. I loved opening the letter and I felt very, very special. I can't describe the emotions I was feeling, but I promise it wasn't really sad, it was just emotional. I really loved it though and I loved being with Bishop and his family. I feel pretty ready to have a new area and see new things, but I would love to stay just to be around the Bishop and his wife and their two little boys. Their son Ricardo reminds exactly of my cousin Tyler Edwards, but just imagine him speaking Portuguese!
This last week we kept teaching these 3 teenage girls, Bruna, Joyce and Andreza. We taught them 3 times this past week and everything was all set for Sunday but they didn't come! I was pretty bummed. We also began teaching this 21 year old man named Dione in a members home and he is understanding so well but he didn't go to church either! All is well though. Luiz Carlos and his wife Efginia are going to mark a date to be married later this month hopefully and be baptized as well!
We were teaching this girl named Leticia last night in a member’s house before a family night and I was listening to this testimony of a woman who joined the church 15 years ago. The church is so much apart of her and her family’s life, you would think they had been members for a long time. I watched Luiz Carlos bare his testimony as well (the man who will be baptized soon). I thought of my frustration with dates falling, and things not going exactly according to my plans, and these less meaningful things seemed of no importance. I was listening to a woman who one day didn't want to join the church, but after praying in her bathroom, felt impressed to bear her testimony and testified that she knew The Book of Mormon is true. I listened to Luiz who had rejected the missionaries several times and used to be a drunk, bear his testimony. Early in the day talking about what his boss had said to him about his potential in work as we shared a lesson about setting goals for the future in all aspects of life.
I thought of Alma 26:30 where the Sons of Mosiah supposed their joy would be complete if they could be the means of saving some. There is something very special about this principle. Numbers are very necessary for recording and increasing success, but these numbers represent sweet people. One could baptize 100 or none on their mission, but the way we give our hearts to others is what will be remembered. Their isn't a way to quantify "hearts we touch" but I think it is a worthwhile measurement.
Love, Elder Calvert
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