Teaching Discussion

Our dinner appointments for food are actually lunch appointments. In the United States the missionaries eat dinner with members but here it is lunch. The biggest meal for them is lunch and very little Brazilians eat dinner and if they do it is like bread with butter and that is it. We always have somewhere to eat and when the members cannot give us food they just give us money and so everything is fine. We actually get fed a lot as well for dinner. So I am being very well fed. It helps as well that last Sunday was my companion’s birthday. We ate so much cake and pies. It helps that since about the 7 of July my companion has been telling everyone about his birthday. He knows how to play the field. We received a cake from about every single member. ha.

This last week has been great. Yesterday we taught the first lesson to a family. Nothing new right? The first lesson just one more time. The difference is that the Spirit really touched me during this appointment. I really felt the truthfulness of the gospel and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. The spirit was so strong during the lesson. I said a lot of things that I don't think I have ever said. The spirit really helped me so much. I really can feel the difference in the lessons I teach with the spirit and the lessons I teach by myself. I need the savior every hour. That is so true. The Lord seems to help me with everything when I search for him. He helps me with the language and with knowledge and with knowing exactly what to say. The weirdest thing is that ever since I have been on my mission I have never really cried a lot during the lessons. I feel the spirit really strong but it doesn't make me cry anymore. Until yesterday. I was not balling but I really felt the spirit and my eyes started to water. I know without any doubts that this is the true church. I know that God loves us and wants our families to be together forever. We need to do our best and work our hardest to obtain eternal life. The great things in life do not come easy. We have to really battle to obtain eternal life. For me however I think the battle for Eternal life is worth it. I will give everything I have to live with my Father in Heaven again and to live with my family. This is a battle I cannot and will not lose. This is the battle that we face every single day of our lives. This battle will not end until we are in front of our maker. To win this battle we all need to work together. NO battle is ever won without always doing the little things. All armies need to eat need ammo and need each other. In this battle for eternal life we to need each other and need to feast ( the scriptures/ ensign / prayer / church/ Temple). We need to be spiritually fed every single minute because if not we will become weak and the enemy will win. Also we need our ammo. We need to use our garments. We need to use our scriptures and we need to obey the commandments of God. If we Love God we obey his commandments. If we obey his commandments we earn His love and His blessings. What a great thing it is to know these things. I love this gospel. I know it is true. I know that Jesus Christ died for us. I feel so great to know these things. I am nothing without my savior and Redeemer and my brother Jesus Christ. I need him every hour. I love my mission so much. I love these people so much. Brazil is now my home. I cannot think about leaving. It will be hard. I love you all. Thank you for your support. Always remember that you are all in the True Church the Church of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Stay strong and stay in the Church. Do not forget to fight the good battle and "feast regularly", use your "amo", and use each other. I love you all. Thank you again. Just know that I am doing good. Until next week.
Com Amor,
Elder Daniel J. Parkinson

Testimony Builder

I am so excited to be an Uncle for the 9th time. Now I can finally say that I am the only one out of the kids without a kid and that is single. haha. Good for me. However I am where I need to be and the other things will come later. I am excited as well about her name choice. Also I am surprised that she actually could choose. That is a miracle on its own.
The mission is going great. The story I wanted to talk about happened two Sundays ago. One of our investigators was not at church because he was really sick. He had planned to be baptized this next Sunday(which he was baptized). We went to his house and talked about the power of the priesthood and the chance that he has to help his whole family and bless his family with his priesthood. We than asked him if he would like a blessing. He agreed to it and so we gave him a blessing. Within about 3 minutes after we gave the blessing he turned and said to us. I don't feel sick anymore. My headache and my fever are gone. I know that it was not anything that me or my companion did but it was the Lord helping to build his testimony and ours. I am grateful that the Lord worked through me that day. I am not perfect at any means and I feel tremendously grateful that he still blesses me in my weaknesses. SO many great things have happened this last little while. I love my new area and my new companion. I have learned so much from him. He used to be the Assistant to the president and so he is teaching me many things. We have talked a lot lately about many different subjects. It is great. I love to study. I love reading the words of our Prophets and apostles. They really are men called of God. We all need to see things how they really are. Satan is trying to win this battle. We need to focus more on spiritual things and not on the worldly things. American idol can wait, house can wait and our friends on facebook can wait as well. If we do not do our daily prayers and a good scripture study we really need to start to do that. Before we watch any show we should ask ourselves. Did I read today and study the scriptures or do I need more spiritual strength. We all need God in our lives. Let us all win this battle against Satan as a family and as Friends and brothers in a good cause. This last week me and my companion were also blessed with Three baptisms. Oh what a great sight to see someone accept God into their life. I know that this is the true Church and that God loves us. I am so grateful for everything I have in my life. Especially for the Great mother and family that I have and for the chance that I have to have God in my life. I love this Gospel and I know it to be true. Every morning we recite a scripture from the book of Mormon when we put on our name tag. I don't know how it is in English just Portuguese. It is 3 Nephi 5: 13.
"Eis que sou um discípulo de Jesus Cristo, Foi por Ele chamado para anuciar sua palavra ao povo, a fim de que tenha vida eterna.
I think it is something like this "Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, I was called by him to announce his word to the people, so that they could have eternal life."
I know this statement to be true. I was called by God to help the people here in Brazil and that is what I will do. Please pray for the work here in Brazil. There are so many people who need to hear what God has in store for them. You all as well can help the work of the Lord Progress. I love you all so much.
Elder Daniel James Parkinson.

Investigators/Transfer

I really loved this week so much. We really seemed to get a lot done thanks to the help of the Lord.

Well lots of things are going on the mission. In the last three weeks I was on division about 8 times with other missionaries. That is all because our Zone had a few problems. So me and my companion were the solution to those problems. This last week was amazing. I had a division with somebody that was in the CTM with me. That was really fun and it was great to see the progress that we both have made. We are really good friends so that made it really easy as well. This week was also full of great lessons and many miracles. I still don’t know how everything happened. I just thank God every single day. I will start off by saying as well that I was transferred again. Yes I know again. I don’t really know why but at times I really get sick of being transferred, but i will go where the Lord sends me. This time I almost returned to my first area on the mission. Almost. I am still Zone Leader just of a bigger Zone now. Yea for me! haha. My new companion is really good. I love this guy. I already knew him pretty well before. He used to be the Assistant to the President. He stayed with that calling for about 9 months. He is really good and I hope that I can be taught many great things. His name is Elder Arêas. Everyone thinks that he is American and so we will go along with it. We decided that he is from Arizona.

Back to my last area real quick. This last week was amazing. I think sacrament meeting this last Sunday was the best sacrament meeting of my life. The spirit was so strong and answers to my prays and many other prayers were answered. Including a prayer from one of our investigators. He prayed for God to show him that this is the true Church. He asked God to make him cry so that he would know. He said that he never cries. During sacrament meeting he just started to cry like no other. He started to ball. I was so touched by that I know I have a even stronger testimony that God Answers prayers. Also we had one of our investigators go up and bear his testimony on how he knows that this is the true church and that he wants his whole family to be baptized and that he too will be baptized here pretty soon. I was so touch and I felt so blessed for that. That area that I left with have one baptism this week and about 5 in the next two weeks to come. In church we had about 8 investigators. I feel really blessed. I love this gospel and know it is true. I am nothing but with the Lords help I can perform miracles for him. I know this is the true Church.

Elder Daniel J. Parkinson