Recife Journeys: January 2016

Cleonildo's baptism

Hey all!

This week had it´s fair share of ups and downs. Adriana and Cleonildo got married, and this past Saturday they were baptized. It was truly beautiful. They both have strong testimonies. Adriana said this was the first church that truly helped her and their goal is the temple. I baptized Cleonildo! It was my first time ever baptizing someone! It

was incredible! Such a spiritual experience. The Bishop and Pedro and Elder Russi helped me out as well.

Doralice was baptized on Sunday. She said all sorts of things happened this week but she was firm in her decision. One of her friends came up to her this week and asked her to party during Carnevale with her, to be Catholic with her, etc., she replied no, that she did not want to be of the world. Irma Hilda and Doralice seem to get a long very well, which is a plus. Irma Hilda is a recent convert, so she bore her testimony yesterday, and earlier this week spoke to Doralice about her own experiences before and after conversion.

I also came down with some sort of tropical fever this week. Elder Russi helped me through but for a while I couldn´t really work, Pedro stayed with me and helped out as well. I´m starting to feel better. My goodness word really does travel fast though, on Sunday all the sisters in the ward were asking about me and listing off a host of tropical diseases that I could have, haha. Then they said, I hope you feel better, we need you here in the ward! It was really sweet. Also, I didn´t know this, but in Brazil, you put the thermometer in your armpit rather than your mouth. Irma Manuela got a thermometer for me and said it had never been used before, etc. I started to put it into my mouth and they all looked at me like, What the heck are you doing? Then they took it from me and showed me how they do it here haha.

Then people kept on saying, you need to go to a doctor, take Tylenol, etc. Fretting and such.

This was the last week with Elder Borba as our district leader, he is already missed! He goes back to Rio Grande do Sul this week. We are starting the next transfer, we´ll see what happens.

We went to downtown Recife this week for a worldwide broadcast. We happened to be stopped by a Brazilian reporter who interviewed us, it soon became clear that his purpose was only to mock-he´s actually part of one of those networks where they

really just talk about nothing, you get the idea, anyway, he started talking to us, asked us why we walk around so much, we said to find people looking for the gospel etc. He then told some random salacious story and asked me what I thought about it, I just said It´s interesting. Strange.. Elder Russi was less than pleased, fortunately Portuguese is not my native language so it was easy for me not to be phased. We didn´t really say much and I think he was looking for a different reaction. He cut the scene and we all left. Also this week, we walked by a radio announcer in town and he said Ós Elderes! haha

Also by the way, we had help from a sister in the ward for the food for the wedding. It was truly generous of her, it turned out to be beautiful.

One of our investigators that we didn´t think would progress, she initially refused to pray for an answer because she said it would show she doesn´t think logically, showed up in the church this week, during the wedding. She actually searched for the chapel and walked in, and showed more interest and a desire to humble herself. She said when she

was growing up she once had a copy of The Book of Mormon but her mom refused to let her read it, so now she doesn´t want to miss this second opportunity but at the same time she´s afraid of it. We´re hoping she´ll progress!

Another interesting thing here, is that even when some people don´t want to talk to you, the vast majority see you as a holy representative. For example, on the street,

No tem tempo abencoado`-I don´t have time, blessed one. It sounds more formal in English than in Portuguese haha. Also interesting is in the train station, there are people that sell agua and other assorted items, yelling Água, agua, um real! Agua. agua, um real!´Always in the same, tired accent, followed by ÉSTACAO PRAZERES!!`´, it´s quite interesting. Tourists are warned not to drink water sold on the train station, sometimes the bottled water there is actually just tap water, we were warned by members.

I love you all of you! Please keep me in your prayers, this work is not easy, nor was it ever, nor will it ever be, but I know the Lord needs me here in Pernambuco!

Elder Talentino

The battle for Jordao!

Got the letters!

Wedding Pictures - Cleonildo and Adriana

Doralice's baptism

The District

Elder Azevedo - MIssion Secretary

Last district meeting with Elder Borba. He finishes his mission. Lagrimas!

Love the colors!

Hey all!

As further proof that the Talentino family has gained global notoriety,

I will recount the following story. Recently we were in the Massaranduba

ward, and one Elder in our district, Elder Thompson, said ´Talentino?`,

I know a Taylor and a Spencer Talentino´. It turns out Elder Thompson is also from Dublin, (Ohio) and lo and behold, here we are in a chapel in Brazil, with the family name continuing strong in various environs. This week was interesting, we had many highs and lows. One of our investigators that we thought would progress said right now she didn´t want anymore lessons since she´s really shy, and it´s just easier for her to go to Mass where she doesn´t have to say anything rather than participate. We definitely did not expect that, but she has her agency, hopefully she´ll remember what was taught and progress in the future. We spoke to Doralice again this week, she seems to be progressing. She told us more people told her not to go to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they said she wouldn't be saved, protected there, etc. She replied, you know who the protector of that church is? `Jesus Christ!`. She also said that when she entered the church for the first time she had a strange feeling she never had before, as if the Holy Ghost were telling her this is where she needs to be. She also said she felt a prompting that she needed to listen to the missionaries to prepare for baptism. Furthermore, she said that there is no way a Gallego could survive missionary work in Pernambuco without the Lord helping him haha She also said she didn´t belief 19, 20, 21, year old youth, etc., would leave their homes and do all this work if it weren´t true. We´re hoping to have her baptized within the month, she has a lot of faith but also a lot of opposition.

There is one recent convert here, Ketlyn, who is truly incredible. She has an incredibly strong testimony. Before she was baptized, a council of neighbors, family, and so called friends gathered together in order to convince her not to join the church or to be baptized, or to have anything to do with the gospel. She said it was ´horrivel´, however, she said that she knew it was the true gospel of Jesus Christ and that she would be baptized. Right now she is learning and studying much, preparing for the temple and planning on serving a mission. She also has very elevated questions, for example, Elder Russi asked her if she needed help with understanding topics in the scriptures and she replied, Í would like to know more, and understand more about, the Millenium´, etc.

We had the fantastic opportunity to go to the temple in Casa Forte this week! It was truly needed, it was a beautiful day, we got there early, we ate at Burger King, which is actually pretty expensive here, not sure how I felt about that, but it was fun. There was truly a sense of peace there, and one girl there, Adriana, knows Sister Dunn! We took a picture together to show her when she goes back to the ward. All in all, it was marvelous.

Fortunately, we get to go back every so often during the mission, it´s not too far from Jordao, and by the way, Jordao is extremely close to the Recife airport for geographical reference.

This week, thanks to the the help of Gabriel, a somewhat recent convert who is extremely active and spiritually strong, we found an apartment complex where everyone seemed to be receptive to the gospel. The Spirit seemed to be there and we´re hoping to return this week. One lady there, Hellyane Gleyce *she said to us sarcastically, my marvelous mother gave me this name haha´´ She actually called

out to us and asked us if we had that ´livro maravilhoso´? We asked, The Book of Mormon? No, another one. Jesus the Christ?, No another one. Our Search for Happiness? No, another one. Eventually, 3 Ways to Leave a Family Happy `?correct title?´ Isso! A Chilean missionary gave it to me years ago, it was truly

marvelous, unfortunately I lost contact with him. Do you guys remember that beautiful film, it takes place in an extremely remote country with a missionary. The Other Side of Heaven? Ahh, isso, MUITO BOA ha ha. You know, in my opinion, there are only

3 religions that are worth anything~Adventists, Jehovah[s Witnesses,

and Mormons, they're the only ones that practice what they preach, at

least in Brazil. She also said to us, you know when I was younger, I realized that in Brazil, there are only 3 ways to get rich, resort to prostitution, become a soccer star, or become a pastor and set up your own church. However, I was 19 years old, I wanted to change Brazil for the better, so I became I professor. She also asked where I was

from, I asked where she thought I was from. `Londres?`, (London) no, entao, if you´re not from Londres, you must be from Ohio, because statistically speaking, it is the state with the highest percentage of people with your eye color. I have no idea if that´s true, but we were all astonished, it sounded legitimate, and no one here ever guesses Ohio, in our outside of the church. Another question she posed to us was quite interesting, she asked us ´Voces sao felizes?`, Are you guys truly happy?, We said yes, even though we have trials, etc. She replied, but really, are you happy? I see people in various churches saying how happy they are and how the Lord has blessed them and when they leave they are truly not happy. I do not want this. She also told us that she was a vegan, and that she was blessed to live and Brazil because of this `Brazil is not vegan friendly, at all`haha She also told us that her husband despises religion, we asked if he used to be part of a religion, she replied Ò Pior que tem, or the worst that exists, The Assembly `Assembleia`. She also said many other things, and has lived in many places, but we´re hoping to teach her and her neighbors more this week.

We asked one of her neighbors how much change it would make in her life if she knew there was a living prophet in our day and age, she replied intensely,muito!

We also visited Gabriel’s uncle who lives there to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, he was open to it, but is concerned about being deceived by false prophets.

Graciete’s baptism was this past Saturday! It was phenomenal! I played the piano and accompanied a family friend of many years, Kezia. Thatiana, Graciete´s daughter,

bore her testimony and it was beautiful. Thatiana waited for that day for over 25 years, and this past weekend it was finally realized. Irma Michella also spoke, along with

Manuela and the Bishop, and Kezia, it was truly sublime. Irma Michella is also hilarious, we got there early, and hardly anyone was there, and she said to me, you know Elder, this is what the Second Coming will look like. People will say, Òh, Jesus chegou cedo!`, equivalent in English to, Oh snap, Jesus came early! haha Anyway, it was truly a beautiful experience the Spirit was strong, most especially during the baptism itself

and during Thatiana’s testimony. It was truly beautiful to see.

In a more lachrymose vein, we had a less than joyful experience with a potential investigator. She didn´t really seem to be paying much attention to us, but the house seemed to be overcome by sadness and gloom. She asked us if this is the life that God wanted for her. Certainly he wanted something different. Then she went on to say that every day she asks the question ´Who is God?`, Elder Russi emotionally responded `Deus e seu Pai`, however, the message didn't seem to be getting through and we left the house with a sense of dreary sadness.

On a much more blissful note, we are working towards the baptisms of Cleonildo and Adriana, they truly are dedicated right now and want to make this step. Cleonildo is smoking much less, and they have certainty this is what they want. They had a relative there, Nedi, that we initially though was going to be somewhat problematic but she actually turned out to be really cool and supportive of their conversion, even though she is not a member. She spoke of how scriptures in the Bible were perverted, taken out, and lost in translation. She understands very well the concepts of Apostasy and Authority. However, she said she does not want to be part of any ´system´, she more or less implied that she was scarred by The Assembly. We asked her if she read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it´s true. She said that she had, but not with real intent, because she did not want the change, at least at the time. Hopefully she´ll progress more. Adriana asked for the Bishop to baptize her, they then said to Cleonildo that he could pick one of the missionaries to baptize him, incredibly, Nede said, You can pick one of the missionaries, they have authority. Cleonildo pointed to me and said, ´Ele´, which to me was a truly incredible and joyous experience. Adriana then said, you know, it seems as if Elder Talentino and Cleonildo knew each other before this time. Nede commented ´I thought the same thing and then Adriana then said even though he is American and the other is Brazilian´Nede replied, ´We’ll they[re both from the Americas[ haha Nede gave the closing prayer and asked for Heavenly Father to give us protection as we preach his gospel, etc. It was a truly beautiful gathering.

Adriana and Cleonildo are scheduled to have their wedding this Wednesday and their baptism this coming weekend. Hopefully all goes well! We also saw Marcos, a member here, no his moto, in the evening, when he went by he went ´Beep, beep! Elderes de Israel!` haha

Also, it´s quite nice when members say, ´Now Elder, in this house,

if you don´t like it, you don´t have to eat it´, you can usually tell when they mean it haha. The food is usually good though, at least in Jordao. I tried cerola for the first time, I quite liked it, it´s bittersweet I think, not quite sure.

Also during lunch yesterday one relative asked Elder Russi, Where is your friend, your companion from? Rio Grande do Sul? I replied, Yes, he then said Ahhhh, then I said, actually no, I from the United States, I was joking haha

Richardson, here in the ward, also said to me on Sunday, you know Elder, there are only two regions of Brazil, the region where people where people wear more clothes, and the region where people wear less clothes. You're living in the region where people wear less clothes. He was talking about geography, not sure why I found it so funny, but I did.

Also, I forgot to add that Doralice said, you think I won’t be close to God in a church protected by Jesus Christ? to the people criticizing the church.

Also, Gleyce said to us, so you sent in your mission papers, and they sent you to the favelas did they? haha Another person here said the word favela, and another replied, not it´s a ´communidade´jokingly

Again, the temple was amazing! It truly was a refuge, baptism is beautiful, I know

that the gospel is true. I love all of you and know the Lord has a purpose for me here in Pernambuco.

Elder Talentino

Graciete´s baptism