Week 15 - From Obidos to Santarém and back!

Hello!!

So we are here a little early today. It has been a very eventful week. I received an envelope package with pictures and candy and a big box with the scriptures and football. So that was great! Thanks! 

The week went by very fast. We left Tuesday night for Santarém and arrived Wednesday morning. I went to the doctor with Elder Capello and it was just like a typical doctors office. We were in the waiting room for HOURS! But afterward we went back to the zone leaders house. There are 4 missionaries living there and we did a split with the missionaries in our district. I went with Elder S Olivera (everyone calls him Salvador. haha!!) He is super cool and I really like their area. It was a tough day because no one was home but we made a lot of contacts and I learned a lot from him. We had 6 missionaries in the house so you can imagine how crowded it was when we returned that night! 

Thursday was zone p-day so the whole zone came and we had a zone meeting that morning then p-day. We played basketball and ate lunch and it was cool. But here is the bad news. Elder Capello fell against a concrete wall and broke his wrist. He went to the doctor in Santarém with Elder Galindo and I went on a split with Elder S Leite. We weren't sure how bad it was but when they returned he had a sling on and they said he had to see another doctor. So we stayed that night. The next day I went on another split with Elder S Leite and Elder Capello went to a bigger doctor. They decided that he broke his wrist and would have to stay in Santarém for a little bit so Elder S Leite would return with me to Óbidos. But the boat had already left by the time we got everything figured out so we were stuck there another night. We finally arrived here in Óbidos Saturday afternoon and ran around like crazy trying to confirm with our investigators about church on Sunday. Elder S Leite doesn't know the area at all so I was kind of the senior companion for a little bit until he figured it out! But we are having good success here. Elder Capello plans to return to Óbidos at the end of this week.

Also when we arrived in Óbidos, our electricity had been cut off! We didn't pay the bill yet but thought we had time. So our refrigerator smells terrible and we are without light. And most importantly, without a fan!! But we talked to our neighbor and ran some extension cords so we at least had a fan. But we will pay it today and get it all fixed.

We had two new investigators at church on Sunday! It is two young women. One has a child and smokes tobacco. But she is really excited about the gospel and said she will stop smoking. So please pray for her! If all goes well with our other investigators we will have 3 baptisms this week.

Then the weddings are still on schedule and if all that works out we will have 2 legally married couples this week and 3 baptisms the next week!

We had a cool experience last night. We went to an investigator's house who will be baptized this week but she wasn't there. She lives close to our house and we don't have anyone else close by to teach and it was only 8 o clock. So as we were walking I stopped at a house and clapped, and clapped. No one was there. But the neighbor came out and I asked for some water (the best way to start a contact). He brought some and an extra liter for us to carry with us. We asked if we could share a message with him and his wife and they said ok. 

They are very young. Only married for 1 year (LEGALLY MARRIED!) and don't have kids yet. I couldn't believe how great they are. They paid close attention and understood the entire lesson! We think she even almost cried after the 1st vision. They said they visit tons of churches and pray every day that God will show them the way they should live and raise their future kids. These are his words, "We always pray that God will show us the way, and now you two missionaries are here. I will pray about your message, and I really hope it is true." They also asked very good questions. After the lesson the lady asked, "After I pray, how can receive an answer and know it is true?" Me and elder S Leite looked at each other like, this can't be real! Afterward we basically ran down the street we were so excited! It was crazy. Truly a blessing and inspiration. I hope they continue to progress! 

So that is pretty much it for this week. Lots of ups and downs but I can't help but be happy when I am teaching the Gospel. Joshua 1:9. The Lord is always with us and will help us in our challenges and give us spiritual experiences. Always have faith in Him! Hesitation or fear is the opposite of faith! Don't fear! It was hard for me at first to speak with people because I don't speak the language well and some people are scary. But now I will talk to anyone, anywhere about the Gospel. 

The rewards God has promised are greater than any persecution we may have here on earth. I love yall!

  Elder Green

NOTE FROM BETSY -

We have seen so much growth in all areas from Clay that sometimes we forget he's barely eighteen. This email exchange between him and his four-year-old niece reminded me...

Email from Scarlett to Clay - 

Clay,

Did you get the package with dog treats? I sent those in grams package for the dogs. I do love dogs I taught beau how to do some tricks. Oh I hope all those dogs aren't dead already on the road that's why I sent those treats for the almost dead dogs. Do good on your mission.

Love Scarlett

Clay's response - 

Thanks for the email Scarlett! Yes I got the dog treats and I will start to give them to the dogs. I actually saw 2 dead dogs yesterday on the same street! It was basically just bones left! Thanks for the email! Love you! 

Elder Green