Sister Selk: Something extraordinary

There was no denying the presence of the Lord in he work this week. It was a pretty normal semana with some extraordinary moments.

I wil give you a little update on some of the people that we are teaching since it has been awhile. First off, the two people that we had marked for baptism- Toni and Denilson.....well unfortunately they absolutely fell off the face of the planet! We had tried to get in touch with them and they are nowhere to be found, so because of that we were a little bummed this week. We went from having several people marked for baptism to having.....none. But luckily we went on divisions this week and Sisters Carver and Aiono came from Barreiro to come work with us in our area! They are both only in their 3rd transfer, but they are little missionary power houses!! I went with Sister Aiono to work in Pinhal Novo, and left Sister Andrew worked here in Montijo. We had a super good division! Sister Aiono and I went to an Irmãs house there in Pinhal Novo and had a lesson with her, Paulo, and another recent convert Paulo that was actually baptized in other ward but lives in our area...long story.... but during that visit, we were getting started and I asked Paulo how he was coming along on the Book of Mormon reading chart that we had given him the last time we talked with him, and he was like "Oh good, the only problem is that I finished it."

I was thinking he meant the chapter that we had left with him to read, but nope.

He finished the WHOLE book of Mormon.

I literally just jumped up from my chair and walked out of the house! hahah I was so impressed! I couldn´t believe it! He is incredible!

The rest of the week was pretty normal. We decided we needed to focus on finding new people, since all of the people we were teaching flaked out on us. It was a bit of a draining week to be honest, and there were a few days that I was EXTREMELY tired. I don´t know what my problem was, but I could hardly stay awake to save my life! Saturday afternoon was one of those days, and I remember saying to Sister Andrew that morning that we were going to knock on someone´s door that day and they were just going to open it and let us right in and we were going to have a miracle. (This by the way has never happened before on my mission) I have gotten invites to come back, but no one has ever just let us in right on the spot. Well after having a really slow morning of work, we came home at lunch and all I could think of was how much I would just like to sleep the rest of the day. And then I thought of the atonement, and whenever I have moments like this, the phrase "It was never easy for Him (Christ), Why should it be easy for you?" pops into my head. And to be honest that was about the only thing that was giving me energy to go back out and work some more. We walked to one of the furthest areas in Montijo after that to try and see if Toni was in his house. He wasn´t, so we decided to knock yet again another apartment building. It was about 8:45 when we knocked on Porta 2E. I didn´t remember this before I knocked the door, but only about a week or 2 before we were searching for a less active member in our ward list which just happened to be the neighbor of Porta 2E. When we came up to knock the door there was a family that was at the door talking to some other people. We said hi, and had a short little conversation, but didn´t want to interupt the conversation they were having with the others

I had completely forgot about this, but then on Saturday We knocked on the door, and I saw their faces and realized I had already seen them before. I asked them if they remembered seeing us the other day, and then introduced ourselves as the missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. And then continued to explain that we had a message that we knew would bless their family.

I could not believe it when I finished talking and the mother stepped to the side, opened the door further, and invited us in. I just looked at sister Andrew like "What is going on!!!!"

I can´t even begin to explain what happened next. It was literally the most incredible, and by far one of the coolest experiences I have had on the mission.

We entered the home of this beautiful family: Carmin (mom), Luis (dad), And 4 children. They invited us in and we all sat around the table. I love teaching families, but I will admit that at times it can be a little difficult to feel the spirit as strong when the children are running around, or playing with their toys etc. But with this family it was completely different.

Before we started Carmin went and grabbed a book and laid it on the table and told all her family to come and listen. Well, it turns out that the book that she layed on the tabled was the Book of Mormon. The elders had given it to her about 3 years ago when she was living in Pinhal Novo, and she explained a whole other miraculous circumstance that I wish I had time to explain, but just know that the Lord completely prepared this family!

We decided to explain the plan of salvation to them. I have a puzzle that I like to use and I began to lay out the parts on the table. We began to explain, and this family was 100% attentive. They have one son that is 14, 2 twins that are 9 years old, and then another son that is 4. The spirit was so stong as we explained what God´s plan was for them. At one point Carmin asked a question to see if she was understanding everything that we were explaining correctly, and the question she asked was so intelligently put that I couldn´t help but smile and think "THEY GET IT!" There were so many miracles that happened in that lesson and I really can´t describe all of them. At one point (Actually basically during the whole lesson) Sister Andrew and I were completely in tears, at another point their 9 year old daughter was in tears, and just overall it was one of the neatest experiences of my mission. This family is incredible! I have so much hope for them, and I know that they are going to be baptized!

I have become a huge believer in the phrase "Where one door closes another door opens." I know that the Lord is preparing the people. There is no doubt in my mind. I love this work, and I am extremely grateful for the savior and the amount of love he has for each one of us.

Hope you guys have a great week! Love you all!!

Paz e Bênçãos!

-Sister Selk