April 29, 2019 Kind of a rough week

So this week was full of challenges, questions, and just a lot of surprises hahaha. So first off, while waiting at the office and waiting for the new missionaries to come in, President told us that one missionary may not be coming because he decided to go home... It ends up that he didnt come and when President told us who would  be training who, he told me that I would have trained the missionary who didnt come... I was super sad but we have to move on. So right now I am again in a trio will Elder Barcelar hahahahaha. Elder Barcelar is finishing a training of one missionary called Elder J Perez who is american actually and I am with them in Jardim Canada. Ha it is funny how I am always with Elder Barclear in a trio. 

But challenges come and go and we all need to enfront them face to face!! Being in a trio is not something that is easy but this week I learned that I can only obey the Lord´s will. It feels strange because Elder Barcelar is the District leader and training and I am just helping out in the training and the work for now. I might be getting a new companion soon but we dont know yet. We spent a lot of this week looking for a new house and getting to know the area. We found a new house and so we are going to move into it this week but other than that we were able to teach a couple of great people. We found a mom that is named Maria Jose and she has a lot of potential! The message we gave her was pretty spiritual and she liked it a lot. We also contacted a couple of old friends that the elders were teaching beforehand and left parts of the Book of Mormon with them. One is a couple that is not married named Lucas and Kelly, and the other one is a girl named Liliane!! It was such a great week of justing inviting people to come and know the truth through the Book of Mormon. The branch here is pretty small, it is a little bigger than Pirapora but it made me think once again about the truth and how important it is to stay faithful. Please if you dont know the truth or if you dont have a testimony do everything you can to obtain one now!! It is so vital. 

That is funny that Zacks sister is going to the senior ball with Chris!! I think that will be funny to see ha. I miss zack and I hope he is doing good! Sadly I found out that Lorrane wasnt baptized because of something the mom did. She went on a trip just to stop her daughter from being baptized. But Elder Holt is going to still folow up with her.

I know that this church is true and I know the Book of mormon is true! I love the gospel and I hope that people will open their hearts to receive it and so that this branch can become a ward!!

April 22, 2019

 

I am so happy to hear that Easter went well and that this week was really awesome for all of you!! It was amazing for me too and I love remembering my savior and everything he has done for me. You will never guess what happened ha..

I got transferred again!!!! But this time I am going to end my mission training a new missionary in the area Jardim Canadá really close to Belo Horizonte!! And guess what?! Elder Barcelar is going to the same area to train as well and we will live in the same house!!! President gave us both a great compliment in his weekly email saying that he sent us there to be obedient and help that branch become a Ward. We are in essence reopening the area. I am so excited to end my mission with Elder Barcelar and we are going to help these new missionaries work as hard as they can!! It is going to be awesome. And other good news!!! Lorranes mom is going to let her get baptized this next saturday!!!! I am sad that I wont get to see it but I know that Elder Holt and his new companion will do a great job and help her to enter in the straight and narrow path!! I love the lord and I love his gospel. Wow how is it amazing how God works miracles among his children if they only have faith and patience that everything will be alright. It is going to be hard to train a new missionary but I have already done it before and I am excited to do it again!!! Wish me luck so we can help this branch become a ward and help others come unto Christ!! 

Sorry that I didnt write as much this week but I am grateful for everything you said about the Atonement. I too have a testimony of the Atonement and I am grateful that Jesus Christ did that for us. He suffered for us so that we can be perfect one day. So that we can wash our stains out and become clean and pure. I love the gospel and I love how no one is lost, all can come back and partake of Gods love and his Mercy through his son Jesus Christ. 

Love you all

Elder Bestenlehner

April 15, 2019

Dear Family,

This week was a great week where I learned a lot of personal lessons.  I was able to learn more from my companion. Throughout the whole transfer we have gotten along really well and we have become really great friends. But a couple of times we have gotten into an argument because of small things that one didn't understand the other or the other one just didn't want to understand. It was interesting as well to see how Pride was involved a bit too. We talked about that after one small argument this week and we were able to see how Pride is what destroys us and our lives. It is what Satan uses to keep us from entering God´s Kingdom. Please if any of you are in a situation where you can not forgive someone of you just dont want to do something that you need to do, Give up your Pride. For it will affect you and your life until the very judgement day. My companion and I try to work on it every day and we study more about being Humble just like our savior. Its amazing how we have the chances to change our lives for the better and obtain Humility. I was also able to see how the Gospel can heal our wounds and especially can heal our families.

 We are teaching Lorraine still and her mom and her dad do not want to accept the gospel but we are helping them see why their daughter needs it. That family has a lot of problems because the Dad is always drunk, the mom sadly has lots of pride and the oldest son does not like the feeling that is in the home. Every time we get there to teach it becomes more peaceful but still complicated. And I realized how important it is to listen to the Holy Ghost and fill our lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ especially in our homes and families. Let go of your pride and let the Savior do the work that he so longs to do inside of each and every one of you and I promise that the Holy Ghost will guide and protect you all. I love the gospel and I love the opportunity we have to teach to everyone about Jesus Christ and his life. We were able to find a couple more people too! Daniel didnt progress at all and we found a brother of a member of the church so we are going to work with him now too! A less active we found named Geraldo is giving us great references too so that has been a blessing. 

Thank you for everything! Love you all!

Elder Bestenlehner

From Tami - The last picture was taken by me while I was talking to him this morning 🙂

April 8, 2019

This week I think my companion and I worked super hard but our minds were focused on preparing for General Conference. 

Wow was this conference amazing. How I loved all of the talks and how the Spirit was very strong. One of my favorite sessions was definitely the Priesthood sessions but I loved all of the other sessions as well. One of my favorite talks was by Elder Eyring in the priesthood session. I think that so many people should listen to this talk. It helped strengthen my testimony so much in one thing. The power of our savior Jesus Christ and our fathers. I know that not every one has an amazing father in our real life. But we all have a Heavenly Father that loves us. He said in his talk "Son I am with you all the way. I know you can make it." That reminded me so much of the love that you and Dad have shown for me and how you have helped me through my struggles and my weaknesses... And more importantely how the Lord has been with me all the way. I agree Sharon Eubanks talk was amazing and taught us how we can turn the darkness into light. In the Priesthood session President Oaks talked about doing things that are better for us. We need to ask every time we do something "Where will this lead? and is it the best thing?" That is so important especially because the Lord knows what is BEST for us and it reminded me of a time when I had a decision to make and I remember my fathers words, you have the chance to choose good, better, or best right now. And I remember choosing good, but i should have chosen the best thing to do. I know that this conference was inspired and focused on Jesus Christ and his Atonement. Wow how they talked about Repentance and that there is time left, we can all go back to the covenant path. I love the gospel and I love my savior. Through him I am strengthened.

The work is going well and we are trying to find lots of people. This last week only Elisa came to the conference with her sister and the others didnt come... But thats ok because this week we have some plans to teach new people and get this work going like the Lord wants it too!!   I will definitely pray before hand to know the Lords will with the emails I am sending and everything else. Elder Holt is doing great and we are getting along just fine.Please pray for Lorraines mom and dad to soften their hearts because as of right now she doesnt want them to be baptized until a long ways away. But We have faith!! Love you all!

April 1st 2019

 

Andrew's camera is kind of broken so these pictures were taken by his companion, Elder Holt. I thought you might find them interesting anyway.

This week will be super busy with our zone conference on tuesday and General Conference on Saturday and Sunday! I am so excited for those this weekend and President is going to let us watch the Priesthood session this time! I am super excited to hear what I can do to be better in the Priesthood.  We spent this last week getting ready for zone conference and doing a lot of praying. We both feel that the training we are presenting is inspired. Wish me luck!

This week we were able to work a lot and prepare a lot of the things for our zone conference that will be this week. Lorraine and Yasmine sadly did not come to church this week and Elisa told us that she really doesnt have the desire to be baptized and she would rather wait. But we were able to find a couple of more people to teach and we hope that they will progress. One of them is a woman named Diane and the other one is a man named Renan. They are both good people and we hope that they will read the Book of Mormon and be able to strenghthen their testimonies about the savior Jesus Christ. We were able to visit a less active also this week whose name is Geraldo and he came to church on Sunday!! He looked happier to be at church and it was a blessing that we could teach him again and he is wanting to give us a reference this week!! We also found a couple of others too and that was interesting!! But this week we had an experience with a man that is muslim and he was born in Egypt and lived in Italy for 25 years. He is super funny and nice and we were able to have a good conversation. In the beginning it appeared as if he just wanted to roast me with scriptures but in the end we were able to give a Book of Mormon too him and we testified of the Savior Jesus Christ and how He IS the Son of our Heavenly Father!! This week I was able to bless the area with my companion Elder Holt by my side. I was able to teach him about that and talk to him about why the area needed to be blessed. What a special experience it was and even though the week was a slow one, I know that the Lord will open the hearts of those who are wiling to hear his voice.  I love the gospel, and my Savior. I have felt again this week my testimony of Him and His mission grow.  I am grateful for my testimony!! 

I know that the Lord will bless us according to our obedience and the love that we show for others. Even if I do require a lot of myself I know that the Savior can do the rest. I love the gospel so much and I know that it is true! Love you all!

March 25, 2019

I am doing good!! Elder Holt and I worked a bunch this week but it seemed like no one wanted to hear us haha. It was kind of a hard week but we are going to see what was wrong and do a lot better this next week!  

This week we have been working hard on helping Lorraine, Yasmine, and the other girl we have taught named Elisa. With Lorraine and Yasmine it has been difficult because of the situation with their mom and their dad.. So it has been hard to really teach them about the important things but they said that they have been trying to read the book of mormon and Lorraine came to church with her brother Luis who is a recent convert. So that was definitely a blessing. Elisa didnt come to church with her sister who is a member so that was hard for us.. We thought that she would really come this week.

 But right now we are in the process of finding and teaching more people. We found this one guy named Daniel that has potential to progress in the future. We are going to see on Friday if he read the Book of Mormon or not! Thank you for all of your prayers and for everything you do! Elder Holt and I are getting a long really well and we are striving to be exactly obedient. I was able to do an interview for the other elders in the zone on friday and it was super cool to see how the gospel changed the life of that young man. I love how the gospel can do that and that is why we need to bring the gospel to every family because it really can make the difference in life. Love you all!

March 18, 2019

 Wow your email made me very happy to see how the Lord really does love his children and he honors those who serve him in righteousness. I love the gospel and the scriptures are the source of happiness in our lives. I love this opportunity I have to stay a little bit longer and fulfill the mission that the Lord wants me to have. And I am very grateful that I have this time to be with President Castellano. I love my mission President and this week he told me that he trusts in me a lot and he knows that I will end my mission well! I know that staying  is the right decision. 

So I am serving in a ward called Progresso and it is an amazing area!! We spent the whole week trying to find some new people to teach because we did not have that much on our teaching record. But we found some pretty amazing people and I believe that the Lord has some great work in store for us. We found an incomplete family in the gospel and we are working with two of the daughters that have the desire to be baptized. The only hard part about it is the dad is pretty hard hearted and the mom seems like she is all over the place and cant sit still ha. But we are going to try and teach them all. The daughters names are Yasmine and Lorraine. And we also found a man named Igor that is super awesome. He promised to read the Book of Mormon and we are going to visit him on wednesday and hopefully more throughout the week. There are so many great families here with people that are non members inside the family. We are going to try and teach all of them and do what we can to help these families prepare for the temple and not just for next sunday. I love being companions with Elder Holt! Its definitely different but we are working things out to be able to speak as much Portuguese as we can and help others.  My companion is awesome and and we are going to work super hard to find people to be baptized and confirmed. I am so grateful that I am here in this new area and I know that the Lord will bless the people here!

That is super cool about Ryan! I will write them an email!  I am definitely going to email Bishop, what a blessing that is. It almost made me cry! Hahaha  I love my savior so much. And I am grateful for an amazing ward i have back home.  I love you so much  I love my mission and I want to end well!