Jobson

It's been another great week in the AMAZON!  I've already been in Brazil over a year now and I still think it is crazy that I'm working in the Amazon.  I feel so blessed to have been called here.  I LOVE my mission so much!  This week we traveled to Manuas to have a meeting with the new mission President.  President and Sister Castro are awesome!  I love them so much.  They shared with us their conversion stories and their love for missionary work.  I felt the spirit so much as they talked and I know that they were called by God to serve in this mission.  Unfortunately, we couldn't travel to Parintins because the sisters were going to come to our area instead.  We were really sad about that, but it was good having extra help this week from the sisters to make visits.

This week we continued teaching Jobson, a 12 year old boy that we found as we were teaching Fernando and Yan.  He is soooooo smart!  We were shocked when we passed by his house earlier this week to teach him and I asked, "So have you read more in the Book of Mormon?"  and he replied, "Yeah I read Joseph Smith's testimony and how he saw an angelic messenger 3 times in one night...."  and he told us the entire story.  We were like, this kid needs to get baptized!  Then we went to get permission from his parents and they are super protective of him.  That was our biggest challenge this week, getting permission to baptize Jobson.  During an exchange Sister Lomonte went there and had Jobson bear his testimony to his parents.  She asked him, "Jobson, why do you want to be baptized?"  He replied, "Honestly, because I feel like I'm a lot like Joseph Smith.  I have been to many churches and I have never felt that they were made by God until I found the church of Jesus Christ.  I want to be baptized because I want to wash away my sins."  You can imagine how proud we were of him!  His parents gave us permission.  Yesterday he was baptized and it was a sweet moment.  After his baptism I asked him how he was feeling and he said, "Awesome!"  We are convinced that he will be a general authority one day.

A member from another branch brought her friend to watch the baptism.  A young mom with 2 young kids and a super hard headed religious husband.  She wants to receive our lessons in secret to learn about the church without any commitment.  She told us there are many things that interest her about the church that gives her reason to research and learn and she loves our focus on the family.  We have our first lesson with her tomorrow and I'm excited to teach someone none judgemental and humbling seeking the truth.  I feel super inadaquate to teach her, but we are so grateful for the opportunity.  I can already feel that she will be baptized in the church.  I'm also super grateful for my companion.  She is super good at teaching in a way that makes sense and I'm learning a lot from her.

Finally, I want to share something cute that happened on Sunday.  After Yan's confirmation, he sat down with me and was looking at the pictures in the front of the Book of Mormon and was asking my questions about the stories (he is only 9 years old).  Then he started looking at the details of the chapel and said, "Did men make this church or did God?"  I said, "What do you think?"  and he said, "I think God, because this church is so beautiful.  Men can't make things this beautiful".  Then I showed him a picture of the Manaus temple and told him that God made that too and he was so excited!  He grabbed the photo and started showing it to his friends, "Look guys!  God made this building too!"  I love the logic of a 9 year old.  It is so simple.  Why don't we think more simply?  Of course this is God's church!  That is why it is SO beautiful!  Look at the temples, who can deny that they were created by Christ?

I know that the church was created by God.  Literally.  I'm grateful for the role of the Spirit in conversion.  I'm grateful for the sacred ordinance of baptism and my role in that process.  The church is true.  I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Sister Jensen