Dear Family, friends, and fellow countryfolk,
This last week was good. Thanks to the help of two members, they have been making a big difference in our work, we had some great success!
Zezito, who is 22, has been picking up on things faster and faster, and he is progressing so well that we moved his baptisimal date up 2 weeks. That way he can help all of his friends and family as a real live member.
So we have been talking with this guy who lives on the street, and he has been to church once, but never does anything to change his life. We talk to him every so often about how he can make the changes he needs, but he never really does that much. The other day we were talking to him. He never asks for money, but he does show people where he lives and cooks, and stuff like that all the time. he has shown us many times, but he always asks us for him to show us where he lives etc... So we were talking to him, and he was talking about how he has no food, and stuff, and he says,
"Let me show you where I sleep"
and Elder Sanchez said, "its right there" and pointed at it.
Then he said,
"Let me show you where I cook"
and Elder Sanchez said, "its right there" and pointed at it.
Then he said,
"Let me show you where I use the bathroom"
and Elder Sanchez said, "its right there" and pointed at it.
He has shown us a million times.
Then I said to him, "if you want your life to get better, you have to repent. You have to make changes. One of the commandments of God is to not take certain substances. If you don´t drink, God will bless you and you will have money for food and to get on your feet and to get in a house."
He protested a little, but we gave him the word of wisdom pamphlet and he said he would read it.
One sunday, he went up to Elder Sanchez, and said, "I read the book, and then went to the hospital" and elder sanchez was thinking, what does that have to do with anything, then he said "I am addicted to alcohol." something we didn´t know. "it is ruining my life. I need to change".
This was a miriacle that as we invited him to repent, his life on the street started to change, and I hope that he will continue on the path of repentance to have a good life now and after this life.
The miracles of God are Great!
So I got a call saturday night that I was getting transfered. I went to church, gave a talk and said goodbye to people, then got on a haice and then a boat. I was alone for like 4 hours. It was weird. I got transfered and am now serving in the city of Praia, in the area of Ponta d´Água with Elder Levi who is from Arizona. I am excited.
I am super sad to be leaving the best island in the world, but I am also excited to be here. I know that The Lord knows what I need even if it is super hard to leave the place and the people I love. We are going to do a good work here though. I am super stoked. We have 3 baptisms this week too. A family, which is super awesome. Mom, Dad, and child. Awesome.
I love the attitudes that we can see in the scriptures. I don´t have much time today, but I invite everyone to get INTO the scriptures this week, especially the book of mormon, and see about the attitudes of people and how we can apply those attitudes to our own lives. (or not apply as the case may be).
I love you all.
Elder Sampson
Monday, May 26, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
The last week maybe Here
Dear Family, this last week has been the second to last week of the transfer, and I am hoping that I am not getting transfered but I have been here since december, so if I can´t write on monday, that would be why.
So this last week has been full of adventures.
I saw firsthand the powers of Satan and the power that he has to cause misery and agony, and also the power that we have to beat him when we all rely on the Lord. The Atonement has the curing power in everything. We are changed through the gracious power of the atonement. The sacriment is amazing like that.
I am translating these scriptures from Portuguese, so if they aren´t translated exactly right, sorry.
Christ taught about the Sacriment, and then said in verse 10 of 3 Nephi 18
"Blessed are ye for this that ye have done, because this fulfills my comandments, and testifies to the Father that ye have the desire to do what I command you." Something like that.
When we take the sacriment, we fulfil all of our obedience. When our goal is to talk the sacriment, then we do everything that we need to during the week to follow the spirit and to be pure of heart. These things are so important, and in many people here, Satan tries so hard to stop the sanctity of the sacriment, and to take away the importance of it, but the sacriment fulfills the comandments of Christ, and without it, we can not recieve the peace that comes through the atonement.
3 Nephi 18 is a great chapter, and I would invite everyone to read it and see how you can apply it in your home.
I wish I had more time to expound on this chapter.
So this week, Claudio, who was baptised two weeks ago is still having some struggles, so you all can pray for him if you want. Just make sure it is a "Prayer of Faith" because that is true and sincere prayer.
This week we also didn´t have to go to Sao Vicente which is so nice because that means that we had lots more time to work here. The Lord is opening this area up as we rely on Him. When I got here, this area was on fire, and slowly the work got slower, and now it is finally picking back up and lots of investigators that we had before that disapeared off the face of the earth, have been showing back up with new vigor. We have people running out of their houses with the book of mormon when we walk by to talk to someone who lives by their house.
The Church is True, and the Lord, when we seek to do acts of charity, and do His will blesses us. It is amazing. Yesterday we heeded a call to hike way up into the montains to find a guy who needed our help, and skipped another lesson to do so, but the Lord blessed us with someone to give us a ride right after the lesson 20 mins to the appointment we skipped, and it went well.
Love, Elder Sampson
So this last week has been full of adventures.
I saw firsthand the powers of Satan and the power that he has to cause misery and agony, and also the power that we have to beat him when we all rely on the Lord. The Atonement has the curing power in everything. We are changed through the gracious power of the atonement. The sacriment is amazing like that.
I am translating these scriptures from Portuguese, so if they aren´t translated exactly right, sorry.
Christ taught about the Sacriment, and then said in verse 10 of 3 Nephi 18
"Blessed are ye for this that ye have done, because this fulfills my comandments, and testifies to the Father that ye have the desire to do what I command you." Something like that.
When we take the sacriment, we fulfil all of our obedience. When our goal is to talk the sacriment, then we do everything that we need to during the week to follow the spirit and to be pure of heart. These things are so important, and in many people here, Satan tries so hard to stop the sanctity of the sacriment, and to take away the importance of it, but the sacriment fulfills the comandments of Christ, and without it, we can not recieve the peace that comes through the atonement.
3 Nephi 18 is a great chapter, and I would invite everyone to read it and see how you can apply it in your home.
I wish I had more time to expound on this chapter.
So this week, Claudio, who was baptised two weeks ago is still having some struggles, so you all can pray for him if you want. Just make sure it is a "Prayer of Faith" because that is true and sincere prayer.
This week we also didn´t have to go to Sao Vicente which is so nice because that means that we had lots more time to work here. The Lord is opening this area up as we rely on Him. When I got here, this area was on fire, and slowly the work got slower, and now it is finally picking back up and lots of investigators that we had before that disapeared off the face of the earth, have been showing back up with new vigor. We have people running out of their houses with the book of mormon when we walk by to talk to someone who lives by their house.
The Church is True, and the Lord, when we seek to do acts of charity, and do His will blesses us. It is amazing. Yesterday we heeded a call to hike way up into the montains to find a guy who needed our help, and skipped another lesson to do so, but the Lord blessed us with someone to give us a ride right after the lesson 20 mins to the appointment we skipped, and it went well.
Love, Elder Sampson
Monday, May 12, 2014
Mother's Day and Brad's Birthday
Happy Mothers Day!
I have the greatest mother to ever walk the face of the earth!!!
Also, Happy Birthday to a great example of an older brother, Brad.
I Love You Both.
This week was a very special week.
Claudio was baptised, and I was pleased to be the one that baptised him. We always try to let the members do the baptisms, but through all our trying, He doesn´t really know the members, and so he asked me to baptise him.
After he left the water, he just stood there, thinking and contemplating and praying. The spirit was there strong. I love him. He is moving back to Praia in a few weeks, so I hope that I get transfered to his ward there, and can see him continue to progress.
This week we went to São Vicente for zone conference. That was an incredible experience. The Spirit was so strong and changed the lives of every person there.
First, Prayer.
Enos´s soul hungered. He kneeled down and prayed UNTIL his prayers reached the heavens. This is how we need to pray too. We need to give more time for prayer, to talk with God until we recieve answers. When we talk to God, it is called prayer, and when He talks to us is is called revelation. Every time we pray we can and should recieve revelation. It should be a grand experience. It takes time though. If you find yourself falling asleep while you pray, find a way to fix that. Don´t pray at your bed, and pray outloud. I know that prayer like this is real and that it changes the lives of every person that prays like that.
In other churches, they have prayers for specific things that are memorized and everything. In our church we don´t do that. Prayer is a conversation. But, we are no better than other false faiths when we say the same prayers over and over. When we have our Morning Prayer, our Breakfast Prayer, Our Lunch Prayer, our Going out the Door Prayer. our Night Prayer. Our Group Prayer. Alma showed up at the ramiumptom and saw the people praying saying, Thank you that we are a chosen people and that only we will be saved. That was very iniquitous. But, how many times do we say thank you that we have the only true church and that we can have salvation because of it. We must speak with our Heavenly Father in order to fulfil the true purpose of prayer.
Second, Doctrines
The Only Way to teach or preach or live is to have the doctrines written on our hearts. Conversion is an active change. When we talk about being converted to something we can ask about our reasons for doing stuff, and about specific things. For example, if we say that we are converted to the doctrine of tithing, but grudgingly pay out tithing, it doesn´t work. We are not converted. We must be converted to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If we ask ourselves why the Atonement is specifically important for our lives, and cant clearly respond something that has been written on our heart, we need to pray and so we can have that blessing of being converted to the Atonement. That is what matters.
Charity never fails. It is never okay to be angry or mad at someone. If there is a problem, serve that person until there is no more problem. Charity never failith. I invite everyone to study the doctrines of Charity, and apply them until charity is written on your heart, and then tell me about it. It will be a fruitful process.
Lastly, I just wanted to appologise because, Like Nephi, We are weak in writing but not in speaking. I need to appoligise to my family that I selfishly did not share more of the Gospel with them when we talked on sunday. As a servant of Christ, I should have better remembered my purpose as a missionary. I love you all, and hope that you can forgive me as I am seeking repentance for forgetting my calling here. I know that the things I could have shared could have changed your lives as they have mine, but I hope that you can get a little through reading this email.
As Always, Love You All.
Elder Sampson
I have the greatest mother to ever walk the face of the earth!!!
Also, Happy Birthday to a great example of an older brother, Brad.
I Love You Both.
This week was a very special week.
Claudio was baptised, and I was pleased to be the one that baptised him. We always try to let the members do the baptisms, but through all our trying, He doesn´t really know the members, and so he asked me to baptise him.
After he left the water, he just stood there, thinking and contemplating and praying. The spirit was there strong. I love him. He is moving back to Praia in a few weeks, so I hope that I get transfered to his ward there, and can see him continue to progress.
This week we went to São Vicente for zone conference. That was an incredible experience. The Spirit was so strong and changed the lives of every person there.
First, Prayer.
Enos´s soul hungered. He kneeled down and prayed UNTIL his prayers reached the heavens. This is how we need to pray too. We need to give more time for prayer, to talk with God until we recieve answers. When we talk to God, it is called prayer, and when He talks to us is is called revelation. Every time we pray we can and should recieve revelation. It should be a grand experience. It takes time though. If you find yourself falling asleep while you pray, find a way to fix that. Don´t pray at your bed, and pray outloud. I know that prayer like this is real and that it changes the lives of every person that prays like that.
In other churches, they have prayers for specific things that are memorized and everything. In our church we don´t do that. Prayer is a conversation. But, we are no better than other false faiths when we say the same prayers over and over. When we have our Morning Prayer, our Breakfast Prayer, Our Lunch Prayer, our Going out the Door Prayer. our Night Prayer. Our Group Prayer. Alma showed up at the ramiumptom and saw the people praying saying, Thank you that we are a chosen people and that only we will be saved. That was very iniquitous. But, how many times do we say thank you that we have the only true church and that we can have salvation because of it. We must speak with our Heavenly Father in order to fulfil the true purpose of prayer.
Second, Doctrines
The Only Way to teach or preach or live is to have the doctrines written on our hearts. Conversion is an active change. When we talk about being converted to something we can ask about our reasons for doing stuff, and about specific things. For example, if we say that we are converted to the doctrine of tithing, but grudgingly pay out tithing, it doesn´t work. We are not converted. We must be converted to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If we ask ourselves why the Atonement is specifically important for our lives, and cant clearly respond something that has been written on our heart, we need to pray and so we can have that blessing of being converted to the Atonement. That is what matters.
Charity never fails. It is never okay to be angry or mad at someone. If there is a problem, serve that person until there is no more problem. Charity never failith. I invite everyone to study the doctrines of Charity, and apply them until charity is written on your heart, and then tell me about it. It will be a fruitful process.
Lastly, I just wanted to appologise because, Like Nephi, We are weak in writing but not in speaking. I need to appoligise to my family that I selfishly did not share more of the Gospel with them when we talked on sunday. As a servant of Christ, I should have better remembered my purpose as a missionary. I love you all, and hope that you can forgive me as I am seeking repentance for forgetting my calling here. I know that the things I could have shared could have changed your lives as they have mine, but I hope that you can get a little through reading this email.
As Always, Love You All.
Elder Sampson
Monday, May 5, 2014
The Will of the Lord
Dear Family, friends etc...
So this week was spectacular. Full of last minute things.
We were excited to have a full week in our area this week without having to go to São Vicente, but that didn´t work out because we got a call that we had a meeting on Saturday, so we spent all of Friday and Saturday out of our area. That was a bit rough. We really only have 4 real days a week to work when that happens, and that makes things rather difficult. Our investigator inventory is dwindling right now because we are never here. It kind of stinks. Oh well. We got a call yesterday that we have zone conference this week, so we have to leave wednsday all day to get there, the meeting is thursday, we come back friday, and so in those three days we only have 3 hours at the end of friday, and most of that will be spent setting up a skype interview. Man. I just want some time to work. These meetings are incredible, but they are also killing us.
So, the miracles of last minute stuff this week.
So on Wednesday we got a call from the Zone leaders saying that they had recieved revelation that everyone in the zone could find one more person to be baptised this week. We started thinking and praying, and then the next morning was weekly planning. We planned for Claudio and a couple of other people that could potentially be baptised on that day. It was nice. Then right after we finnished planning, Claudio called us.
Claudio is from Praia, and was a golden person there. He was taught everything, and was ready to be baptized then 2 days before his baptism, he got a teaching job here way up in the mountains and so he moved here. We went and visited him right after he arrived, and set up some stuff, but then there were some complecations and he didn´t really feel the need to get baptised here because he is one day going back to Praia and he will be baptised there where he lives closer to the church (he lives 30 mins in a car here) because he knew that he needed to be baptised and that he wanted to be baptised, but didn´t feel the need here. He was almost baptised but then pulled out last second. We left him for like a month, and didn´t really hear from him until we recieved the revelation that someone could be baptised the next week. He told us that he needed to talk to us. He had had many experiences in the last month, and had decided that he couldn´t live anymore not going to church and not being baptised. We marked him to be baptised after church on sunday so that he could go to church here at least once, and then be confirmed the next week. Do to some complecations, it didn´t happen this week, and had to be put off for next week, but it was still sweet. He will be baptised this saturday. I am super excited for him.
That was pretty much what happened this week.
Also, Happy Birthday to Papa and Happy Mothers day to every mother out there.
I am so grateful for my dearest mother who is the best mom in the world.
Cape Verdian Mothers day was this week, so we wished people happy mothers day here this week.
Right now we could use some prayers to build up our progressing investigators and investigators in general. We have many other miracles with less actives coming back and stuff like that, but we are very much struggling with investigators. So, Please pray for us!
Spiritual though for the week:
So, The Anti-nephi-lehites make a promise not to take up arms anymore.
Then the enemy comes, and starts killing them.
They did not break their covenant, even at the cost of their lives.
A lot of times we look at the 2000 stripling warriors as a great example, and they are, but also sometimes we don´t see the incredible example of their fathers. Men who knew their responsibility to defend and provide for their families, who, because of their sins in the past, had to deal with the concequences. Many times in our lives we see long term effects of past sins. Even though we can recieve forgiveness completely, the more we sin, the more we end up hindering our future. We put walls around our lives because if we repent completely, we can´t go to those places or anywhere near them anymore. It is a process that clearly shows us why we have to repent now, and that the concequences of sin aren´t just short term. We must repent now, and above all avoid sinning in the future!
I hope to everyone the best of a week.
Love,
Elder Sampson
So this week was spectacular. Full of last minute things.
We were excited to have a full week in our area this week without having to go to São Vicente, but that didn´t work out because we got a call that we had a meeting on Saturday, so we spent all of Friday and Saturday out of our area. That was a bit rough. We really only have 4 real days a week to work when that happens, and that makes things rather difficult. Our investigator inventory is dwindling right now because we are never here. It kind of stinks. Oh well. We got a call yesterday that we have zone conference this week, so we have to leave wednsday all day to get there, the meeting is thursday, we come back friday, and so in those three days we only have 3 hours at the end of friday, and most of that will be spent setting up a skype interview. Man. I just want some time to work. These meetings are incredible, but they are also killing us.
So, the miracles of last minute stuff this week.
So on Wednesday we got a call from the Zone leaders saying that they had recieved revelation that everyone in the zone could find one more person to be baptised this week. We started thinking and praying, and then the next morning was weekly planning. We planned for Claudio and a couple of other people that could potentially be baptised on that day. It was nice. Then right after we finnished planning, Claudio called us.
Claudio is from Praia, and was a golden person there. He was taught everything, and was ready to be baptized then 2 days before his baptism, he got a teaching job here way up in the mountains and so he moved here. We went and visited him right after he arrived, and set up some stuff, but then there were some complecations and he didn´t really feel the need to get baptised here because he is one day going back to Praia and he will be baptised there where he lives closer to the church (he lives 30 mins in a car here) because he knew that he needed to be baptised and that he wanted to be baptised, but didn´t feel the need here. He was almost baptised but then pulled out last second. We left him for like a month, and didn´t really hear from him until we recieved the revelation that someone could be baptised the next week. He told us that he needed to talk to us. He had had many experiences in the last month, and had decided that he couldn´t live anymore not going to church and not being baptised. We marked him to be baptised after church on sunday so that he could go to church here at least once, and then be confirmed the next week. Do to some complecations, it didn´t happen this week, and had to be put off for next week, but it was still sweet. He will be baptised this saturday. I am super excited for him.
That was pretty much what happened this week.
Also, Happy Birthday to Papa and Happy Mothers day to every mother out there.
I am so grateful for my dearest mother who is the best mom in the world.
Cape Verdian Mothers day was this week, so we wished people happy mothers day here this week.
Right now we could use some prayers to build up our progressing investigators and investigators in general. We have many other miracles with less actives coming back and stuff like that, but we are very much struggling with investigators. So, Please pray for us!
Spiritual though for the week:
So, The Anti-nephi-lehites make a promise not to take up arms anymore.
Then the enemy comes, and starts killing them.
They did not break their covenant, even at the cost of their lives.
A lot of times we look at the 2000 stripling warriors as a great example, and they are, but also sometimes we don´t see the incredible example of their fathers. Men who knew their responsibility to defend and provide for their families, who, because of their sins in the past, had to deal with the concequences. Many times in our lives we see long term effects of past sins. Even though we can recieve forgiveness completely, the more we sin, the more we end up hindering our future. We put walls around our lives because if we repent completely, we can´t go to those places or anywhere near them anymore. It is a process that clearly shows us why we have to repent now, and that the concequences of sin aren´t just short term. We must repent now, and above all avoid sinning in the future!
I hope to everyone the best of a week.
Love,
Elder Sampson
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