Getting to Leave the Mission Boundaries

Hello everyone!  So yes, it's me again, I know I missed last week.  I'd like to jump right into this email because there have been plenty of things that have happened this week that have all seemed like a blur kind of, but there are a few points that I would love to share as they have been very special and spiritually uplifting.  

First off, the title of this email is about leaving the boundaries of the mission.  I say this because the temple actually is in the Rio South mission, so it's about 30 minutes out of our mission boundaries, but even so I've left the mission about 5 times this month to be able to go the temple.  

Here in Rio de Janerio, and in our stake specifically, it's all about getting people to the temple and giving them the opportunity. So we have schools doing fieldtrips, tourism agencies visiting, buses of the wards, buses of the missionaries, buses in downtown Rio.  EVERYTHING!  So, one of the slightly stressful things about being a Zone Leader is a lot of the planning for these things is mine and Elder Johnson's responsibility.  But we have been surviving just fine here!  

Along with that, we have so many chances to be able to invite people. Over the last couple weeks we visited a English Course with the other elders in our household, and the 3 Americans got to talk in English.  The Brazilians down here are really good, and they asked a lot of really good questions, a lot about the brazilian culture and what the adjustment was like.  We were told by the instructor to not tell them that we were really good at Portuguese, and just to say we know a few words.  So they all asked good questions, except how we survived in Brazil without knowing Portugeuse.  

Another opportunity to bring people to the temple was a school field trip.  It was a little difficult, because of the church and state restrictions, we were only able to talk about certain things, but if they had personal interest then we could go into actual doctrine.  It was a very very special experience, because the group that Elder Johnson and I led, there was 2 people who stayed at the door of the temple at the end of the tour, saying they didn't want to leave because they felt so good in the temple.  They had so many good questions about the temple.  On the bus, Elder Johnson talked to one and I talked to the other and it was so amazing.  These youth really had good questions and they had genuine concern.  It was so special.  The girl that I talked to, her name is Milenna.  She started off by asking, "What is our purpose in life."  I then showed her the Book of Mormon and read Alma 34 with her.  

"32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." 

She was confused what it meant to be "preparing to be with God again,"  So I explained the Plan of Salvation, the plan of God for our lives.  And then about the process of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then she asked, "How do I know that what I'm doing is right?" So then I flipped to Moroni 10 and she read it.  

" 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." 

These questions were a giant playpark to a missionary.  There is a section in Preach My Gospel that focuses on exactly these questions, about 'Questions of the Soul' and how they can be responded to by the Book of Mormon.  I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the powerful and restored truths that it has.  Milenna and I ended up talking for about 2 hours, and at the end I invited her to pray about everything she heard, and I promised that she would feel the same way she felt in the temple.  

2 days later we received a text from her saying, "I did the prayer.  Everything you said is true."  

WOW! What a text to wake up to!!!!!  It was so cool, and now we are working with her to help her understand what it means to receive answers from the spirit.  

And as well, we marked a baptismal date with our friend Marinete!  She's a super sweet woman, and we are excited to help her with her progress in the near future.  

One connecting theme I have found over this Temple Open House time, is how much the Lord blesses us, but not in the way we initially think.  I have found the Lord blessing us in many ways, but it's very rarely the way that I want, or he's helping me through just enough to the finish line, and it's not the giagantic burst of strength like I would hope for.  But his hand is always there.  And it's always there in your life.  

And if you have questions, there are answers.  If you want to know, pray.  He will help you know.  

Elder Moss

RJ, Brasil