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| Lúcia (on right) and her daughter, Mariana |
Lúcia
Above is a photo the first baptism of 2016 in Angra, Lúcia Matos. She has had many difficulties in her life with health issues and depression. It was December 24, 2015 when Elder Crawford and Lowry knocked on her door. For her, it was a door that opened to a new hope and light that she had not had!! Dennis was able to go with them for several lessons and Janet attended a couple as well.
She was baptized on February 21 and I have never seen such radiant light in a face before. She savored the wonderful feeling of being clean after the baptism. She has brought a sense of joy to our branch.
She continues to have health problems, but finds strength and comfort in the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. She loves her pequeninos (means little children), the missionaries who taught her, though Elder Crawford was at least 6' 6" tall and Elder Lowry fairly tall as well. It was hard to have Elder Lowry transferred and then the next transfer, Elder Crawford went back to the continent. She still loves to have the missionaries around, but misses the pair that taught her the gospel.
She is serving in the Young Women's program as a counselor. (Not as big a calling as in a full ward. There are only 3 young women!) She loves to cook and loves to serve others. Her main sorrow is her daughter and husband are not interested in learning more about the gospel. We appreciate that they support her in her activities in the Church and do not keep her from participating fully. In fact, her daughter was very supportive of her being baptized when her husband had some concerns. Mariana took the lessons, but wasn't ready to make some changes in her life. Some day.
After Lúcia's baptism.
We always have some kind of social gathering (with food, of course). For her baptism, Lúcia made some pretty delicious dishes.
Laura
Our next baptism was Lara Amaral. She is the sister of Marco, one of our active members in the branch. So, she has known about the church for some time. I am not exactly sure what happened, but she suddenly decided it was time to listen to the missionaries. She was taught by the sisters and was baptized in March by her brother. She and Lúcia have become good friends, being the newbies in the branch. They are very different. Lúcia is very energetic and shows her emotions. Laura is much quieter (and calmer) and isn't quite so open. I really enjoy being around Laura. She keeps things on an even keel!!
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| Laura with her brother, Marco and her missionaries, Sisters Doman and Hart |
Janet worked with her on the Relief Society Activity committee and she had lots of good ideas. Her challenge is influence of friends that sow seeds of doubt. She loves the gospel and the scriptures, but is having a bit of a challenge with church. But, I think she is missing the feeling of belonging to a group of good people and serving.
Isabel
We will now jump over to Praia for our next baptism, Isabel. Isabel had
been an investigator some time before but didn't get baptized. Then, one
Sunday, she came to church with her daughter, age 2 years old. The
missionaries began teaching her again and she decided to get baptized.
Isabel has had a very difficult life. She had a head injury as a teenager and still has great difficulty reading. She is in the process of getting a divorce and was living in a home for mothers with children. She didn't really like it there, but that was the only place she could go to have housing. She told us that when she came to church, she felt something different, something good. And she wanted to have it in her life.
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| Isabel on her baptism day with her branch president (Dennis), her missionaries Elders Thomas and Haroldson and her daughter. |
Frank
It was a cold, rainy night in January and Frank was sitting in a cafe/bar watching the end of a professional soccer game. Two young women came in and he thinks he acknowledged them, but isn't completely sure. However, after the game was over (and his team won), he went over to them and said Hi and offered to buy them a beer. "No, thank you!!" the sisters missionaries answered. They talked some and then he offered to take them home. "No, thank you" they answered. They got his contact information and then they left, going out into the cold and rain. Frank was so impressed that they would come here to teach about Christ and endure such difficult conditions. He thought there must be something to this church!
He started taking the lesson, meeting the sisters at 9:00 at night after milking his 30+ cows. Frank was actually born in California, but moved to the Açores with his family when he was 12-13 years old. So, he actually likes talking in English and it was a real change for the sisters to teach in English!! We were able to join for many lessons (the sisters had to have another woman in the building) and Frank was determined to learn everything before making the decision to be baptized. And Sister Doman was equally determined to help him see that baptism was only the first step to take and he would learn about the gospel for the rest of his life. He was finally baptized the end of April about a week before Sister Doman was transferred back to the continent at the end of the normal 6 months on the islands.
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| Frank with his missionaries, Sisters Hart and Doman, and his branch president who also baptized him. |
Frank commented that he had seen the elders walking around many times, but they never stopped to talk to him. With his full beard and long hair, he probably doesn't appear to be one who is interested in religious things. However, he has always lived his life in an ethical and honest way, serves others continually and works hard on his family's dairy farm. Never judge who is ready to hear the good news of the gospel.
Frank has a calling as a counselor in the Young Men's presidency (we just got our 2nd active Aaronic priesthood youth who just turned 12 to join his older brother). He enjoys the various activities of the branch, but often is late as he can't come until the cows are taken care of. That is his main challenge -- finishing milking the cows for 10:00 church. Sometimes he will come to the Praia branch which meets at 3:00 in the afternoon. He loves to talk and tells the funniest stories about the crazy things that have happened to him.
Sandra and Samuel
Sandra was on the street when she was contacted by the elders in Praia. She accepted the invitation to have them visit. She is married to Rui, a very hard working father -- 6 days a week, probably 10-12 hours every day. He doesn't get home until 9:30 or later at night. She has 2 sons, Alexandre age 14 and Samuel, age 12 (he has since turned 13!). Sandra is lots of fun to talk to and Elder Thomas and Haroldson were a great fit for her. We joined them in several lessons since her husband was not home for the lessons.
She really wanted to be baptized, but she smoked cigarettes, only 1-2 a day. But it was an addiction and an important social time with her friends and was very difficult to let go. She had to have her baptism pushed back one week when she finally was able to do the 10 consecutive days without smoking.
Samuel was a strong support for her and also was taught and wanted to be baptized. He waited for his mom and they were baptized on July 3.
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| Sandra and Samuel with their missionaries, Elders Osborne and Thomas |
Sandra is a joy to have in the branch and she is quite the animated talker. She is serving as a counselor in the Relief Society and is getting good training from Manuela, the RS president. Samuel, being 12 years old, has received the Aaronic priesthood and, as a deacon, passes the sacrament every week. He is the only active Aaronic priesthood holder in the branch right now. He is very reverent and respectful as he distributes the sacrament to our small branch.
Their main challenge is getting to church. They live in Fontinhas, which is about a 10-15 minute drive to the church and their car is not working. The bus schedule on Sunday is pretty sparse and doesn't work well for their needs. She is hoping that in a few months they can afford to get their car on the road, but for now, that is not an option. We often pick them up for church and Manuela gives them rides as well. They don't live that far from Manuela and she is so glad to have a happy, strong member coming to church. She also recognizes that these first few months (and easily up to a year), are so vital in giving support and encouragement to new converts. They have both given their first talks in Sacrament Meeting and participate fully in the activities of the branch.
We are very grateful for our precious converts. It is a life-changing process, becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! Your whole view of life changes as you come to know the great plan of happiness that God has given us and the central role that Jesus Christ plays in that plan. It brings joy, light and purpose into their lives.
It is also life-changing as you lay aside the cultural activities and beliefs that you grew up with and are still surrounded by. Sometimes, that takes time. We appreciate that our new members work to stay in the church and as they keep coming to church and keep learning and keep deepening their understanding, the things of the world that don't belong in the church will be left behind.
Our hope is always in Christ. May we always keep Him central in our lives.
