Week 38 - March 6, 2023

What's up, everyone!  Another awesome week out here! A lot of walking and a lot of hiking and running around to all the visits we have. 

This week we had the baptism of Julia!  Julia has now been taught by multiple sets of missionaries but finally decided it was time.  She has had nothing short of a rough childhood, but the people at church have taken her in like family.  After a long time of coming to church, the time was right, and we couldn't be happier for her decision to be baptized. 

This week was a lot like the last.  Always on the run and full of stuff to do.   A few things happened this week which are firsts in the mission.  Unfortunately, one of our good friends was supposed to be baptized this week, but for the fourth week in a row has fled his house Sunday morning.  When we went by to pick him up, we decided we would take it into our own hands and go looking.  Our friend is beyond prepared but for some reason gets cold feet last second.  Before we knew it, we were out roaming the streets looking for our guy.  Odds were stacked against us, and we had no luck finding him, but there's always next week.

 

On top of that, Weaver and I must have had some bad water or food poisoning because we have been feeling the effects. These past few days we've had our fair share of time in the bathroom and been contemplating life, but it's only right you get sick a few times. 

This past week, Weaver and I had a leadership meeting with the President and other missionaries in Porto Alegre where we talked all about future plans and the vision.  It's always cool to see how much the mission is growing and the purpose of the work.  President gave us a lot of insight and advice about not sitting around and waiting but instead going out and making stuff happen.  This can be applied to every part of our lives. The only way we can become who we want is if we do our part each and every day and trust that it's a process that takes time but is completely worth it!

Things are awesome over here!  The new area is awesome, and Weaver and I have a lot of good stuff happening.  I'm grateful to be here and for this opportunity every day!

Elder Copeland!