Dear Everybody,

 

So many things happened this week! I will have to tell it day by day again.

 

Monday- P-day! We went to Belém (in Portuguese that´s Bethlehem) to visit some historical sites and taste some amazing, tranditional pastries. It was really fun because the Elders in our district as well as another pair of Sisters came with us. It was nice to get some fresh air! We got a wonderful letter from President Fluckiger with a personal story from a missionary in the States. It talked about spiritual purification beginning with a fast. I have attatched the text in this email. I highly recommend reading it!

 

Tuesday- Our last division of the transfer. This time we did it like the Elders do! I went to Benfica with Sister Azevedo while Sister Gidney stayed in Odivelas with Sister Call. It was good. These Sisters are replacing the two that had feet problems last transfer, so they need to do a lot of work to get the ball rolling again after so much down time. They live right next door to the Mission Office, so I had the pleasure of seeing Sister Mendes, the one that got sick in the Azores. Turns out she  was born with two fractured vertebrae that got aggravated from wearing a heavy bag. She is probably going to get surgery soon. I hope that things work out! Right now she is staying with the Senior couple that work in the office. Her family actually lives in Portugal, but I hope that she won´t be released as a missionary! If you have time, send a prayer her way!

 

Wednesday- We have been teaching Maria a lot, hoping that she would get baptized this Sunday. We brought Brendo, a 17-year-old recent convert, to the lesson. I think the lesson helped him more than it helped Maria because he keeps telling us how he wants to go back to help her! We hope that this will give him the desire to serve a mission too, which would be soooo good for his family. Unfortunately Maria was not feeling ready. She has what we call an `Iceberg Problem,´ meaning that we can only see 10% of the problem of her life (like the visible part of the iceberg), and we can´t help her until we see the part underneath the water. Trying to get to the root of the problem has been like yanking out a wisdom tooth! We also had dinner with a member that night, after which I started a 24 hour fast (what a better way to start a fast?) to know what I can do to purify myself so that I can feel the Spirit more.

 

Thursday- Mission Tour with Elder Kearon! It was absolutely AMAZING! He made me feel so good, you know? I remember at the last mission tour we all felt bogged down afterward because all that we heard was chastisement and an overwhelming amount of information. But this time was a lot more relaxed and focused purely on what we wanted to hear at the time. It was such a fun experience to be fasting during a meeting like that because I was more sensitive to the Spirit. It was in Oeiras, which is a big stake center. It was neat because the people that needed a translation had what I call `TV ears´ connected to a microphone that two Elders were speaking in. It was really tasteful and helped us cover more and feel more natural. Plus, everyone felt willing to share what they thought no matter of which language they originally speak!

 

Friday- Mission Council with Elder Kearon. It was the best mission council I´ve ever been to! We decided TOGETHER what the missionaries need right now, including ourselves and it boiled down to 2 main points: Exact obedience and Being full of faith! We are really excited to help one another do that! I also got a June Liahona of which MY BROTHER DAVE AND HIS FAMILY IS ON THE COVER!!! I can´t stop telling people about it! We visited Jorge quickly in his doorway. We introduced the idea of temples to him, after which he said a prayer. He started sobbing in the prayer and afterwards explained that sometimes he feels so happy that he cries! We are so excited that he´s having true growth in his soul!

 

Saturday- Maria de Carma was still feeling wishy washy, but we asked her to be interviewed to have a third opinion from our District Leader. I don´t know what he did, but it was magical! She finally opened up to him and he explained that she has to give it an all or nothing effort in order for her life to get better. She came out of that interview excited and relieved, ready to do her part. She is marked for June 1st for a do or die baptism.

 

Sunday- Brendo through a surprise birthday party for a member friend of ours! It was a fun way to end the transfer. Both Sister Gidney and I are staying one more transfer together here in Odivelas, but we are Sister Training Leaders over a different Zone... No more flights!!!

 

Whew! I hope that covered what happened. It was a fabulous week. I love you all,

 

Sister Derrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Price and Blessing of Exact Obedience

“As a junior companion I experienced some missionary success but it was limited. As a senior companion I 

committed to work harder than I had ever worked. Initially this brought no success. I paid deeper attention 

to the scriptures. I worked hard to become a better teacher. In finding I worked at acting instead or being 

acted upon. I thus began to move closer to Christ and suddenly my appointment book began to fill. I was 

excited to finally have people to teach. Finally I was going to be successful. Then the phone rang. The 

mission president was transferring me. It seemed inconceivable that at this moment I would be transferred. 

I went to the new area and continued to work. In terms of spiritual things, I was starting to 

understand more deeply. Yet there was still something missing. I began to read the scriptures even more 

thoughtfully. More accurately, I began to search the scriptures. As I did, I began to sense that there was still 

something missing. One day a member informed us that he had an investigator that was ready to be taught 

and he volunteered to attend the first discussion. The discussion went along as usual. At the conclusion my 

companion and I bore witness of Joseph Smith and then turned to our friend. He paused for a moment, 

looked at the young lady and said, ‘I know that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of God.’ The room filled 

with the Spirit. The investigator started to cry. As we walked home, I was baffled. That man said the exact 

same words that we had said but the result was dramatically different. When he spoke he had an influence 

that we did not have. There was still something to be learned. I had to find out what the secret was so I 

returned to the scriptures. It seemed like we were so close to being effective and yet we just could not make 

it happen. 

 Later we attended a meeting and heard a man speak about the scriptures as a source of 

spiritual power. His words caused a burning in my soul. When he finished his address, I explained to him my 

desire to be effective. I told him about the lessons I had learned. I told him that something was still missing. 

Finally I asked him if he could tell me what it was. He looked into my eyes and said nothing. Nearly a minute 

went by and I began to feel very uncomfortable. Finally he spoke. He said, ‘Elder, when those pretty young 

ladies pass you on the street, what do you think about?’ Before I could answer, he asked, ‘Do you ever speak 

sarcastically to your junior companion?’ ‘Do you get up on time every morning?’ ‘Do you keep every mission 

rule?’ His list of questions grew longer. Finally he said, ‘These are things that keep the Holy Ghost from being 

your companion. If you want the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, then you must purify yourself. 

I will tell you how to do it. Go home and fast for a day. In the attitude of fasting and prayer, make a list of 

every behavior that pokes at your spirit. Once you have made your list, then go to the Lord. Covenant with 

the Lord that you will fast from the things on that list for 40 days. In other words, for 40 days you will do 

nothing that appears on that list.’ 

 ‘You cannot just stop the old behaviors and start the new ones. You need the help of the Lord. So each 

morning go to the Lord and specifically promise him that you will avoid or start each item on the list. Ask for 

his help so you can have extra strength and then at night go over your list with the Lord. If you failed on 

some items, figure out why. Tell the Lord. Ask for more strength the next-day. Go through the process for 40 

days. If you do, you will find that your most basic desires will change. Your spirit will flourish and the Holy 

Ghost will become your constant companion. You will become an effective tool in the hands of the Lord.’ I 

thought I had become an obedient missionary. This man was raising the standard. He was taking the notion 

of exact obedience and complete conversion very seriously. 

We went home determined to make the concept work. We began to fast and we began 

to make a list. It proved much harder than we assumed it would be. I would pray and then I would feel 

impressed to write down some item. Then arguing that there was nothing wrong with the particular thing, I 

would fight the impression. For example, I felt impressed to put golf on the list. My response was, ‘There is 

nothing wrong with golf. We only play on preparation day.’ I ignored the fact that on the other six days my 

mind continually dwelled upon how to play better. I wrestled with the spirit and then finally wrote golf on the list. It is interesting that from the moment I wrote it on the list, I experienced the most intense desire to 

play golf. Everywhere I turned there was some reminder, some temptation to break the commitment. So it 

was with each item on the list. Each day I had to fight all my natural inclinations and turn to the Lord for the 

help necessary to overcome myself. Sometime between the 30th and 40th day, I suddenly realized that my 

desire for the things on the list had disappeared. It was as if a great anchor had been cut from me.

The last morning my companion and I knelt in prayer and then started out the 

door. I was impressed to go back and again pray. With unusual confidence I addressed the Lord "Father, 

these are thy children. We are now doing everything within our power to live the gospel. We turn the burden 

over to thee. Please carry us the rest of the way and the glory be Thine forever." This was a profoundly 

important sentence. We were giving all we had. We were comfortable in the presence of God. We were 

now surrendering ourselves. We hungered only to think the thoughts of Christ, to speak the words of Christ, 

to do the work of Christ. We went to our first appointment. Halfway through the discussion, our 

investigator began to make an excuse that he could not be baptized because he did not believe that Joseph 

Smith was a Prophet of God. I interrupted him. "That is untrue. You do know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. 

Your real fear is that your mother will disapprove if you join the Church. In the name of Jesus Christ, I 

promise you that your entire family will embrace the Gospel because of your courageous example. The Lord 

wants you to be baptized now and it is necessary that you comply." I never before had done anything like 

that. In fact, I knew nothing about his mother. He had hardly mentioned her. While I could hardly believe 

what I had said, a familiar spirit filled the room. This brother began to weep. He committed to be baptized 

the following Saturday. The experience repeated itself. At our very next meeting with each investigator, 

there was a celestial manifestation and every one of them was committed to baptism. Between Thanksgiving 

and Christmas we baptized at least one person every half-week. It was an unusual number of baptisms for 

our mission. 

While the number of baptisms was large, the truly impressive thing was the change in my 

companion and me. We were different people. O