Lots of Learning Experiences

First of all, sorry.  I have been trying to send pictures but not a lot is working.  I hope next week I can try 

a different computer and it will work better.  This new one doesn´t work, but the one that Elder Sanchez

is on seems to be working, so next week I will dibs that one.

So, first of all, this week on friday night we got a call that Elder de Pina and Elder Veiga were leaving. 

They got their visas!!!  Wahoo.  Brazil visas are super hard right now because of the world cup, but Elder 

de Pina is going to brasil this week and Elder Veiga next week.  Awesome for them, so now Elder 

Sanchez and I are actually serving together.

So there were lots of learning experiences this week.  Some things are getting better, and some things 

are still falling apart in the branch.  We are working super hard, and it is rather very much difficult to help 

these people learn to be strong.  There are a few people that do super good work, and I am super grateful

for them, but there are some people that have their hearts set on the world right now and need to change

some stuff. 

The church is finally opening here this week.  The contract said to open it on the 1st of January, and so

we are only 3 months late!  Man, it has been a long and painful wait.  I am hoping and praying and fasting

that it helps get a lot more success here, because with trying to save the branch, we haven´t had a 

baptism in like 5 weeks and stuff, and so life is a little rough, but at least we have baptisms frequently

here unlike other areas in the world that go the whole mission with only a few baptisms.  We have lots

of room to improve though.

So I have a testimony that God gives us what we ask for. At the beginning of the week I asked for hunger

for the scriptures, and now I can´t get enough.  All the free moments (lunch, morning, night) that I can 

find I just have to read Preach My Gospel or the Book of Mormon.  It is super awesome!  When you 

ask for something just, God gives it to you, every single time. Awesome.

This week we ended up walking a lot, but that was okay.  It is way better to not walk, because that 

wastes time, but there is no school for like 2 weeks right now so there are less cars on the road, 

which means it is harder to find one.  It is good though, because then we can talk and make plans 

about what we are going to do.

One thing that is super great is repentance.  We are working with lots of less actives, and then spirit

has been super strong in all of our letters recently, and we have been preaching repentance to the less 

actives and non actives. (actually though, there are very few that are 100% active).  There is a lot to do, 

and a lot to learn.

I have had to pray and read and pray and fast and pray to keep going hard all the time because it is like 

trying to swim through carmel here right now, but that´s okay, because God has a rope, so we just have

to grab on and everything will be all right.

Well, I hope everything is going well in the land of America. Be grateful for what you have, and let go of

the illusion of control.  Show up at conference with an inspired question that you receve through prayer

led by the Holy Ghost, and everything will go well!

Love,

Elder Sampson