Hello everybody!
I am not sure if I knew all of you before I left on my mission, so allow me to introduce myself. My first name is Brendon, but everyone here in Ceara, Brazil calls me Elder Carpenter. I left an awesome family behind in Cameron Park and I have an identical twin brother who is serving in Southern Brazil in a state called the Rio Grande do Sul. I am serving right now in Fortaleza, the biggest city and capitol of Ceara, and if I had to describe the area I am serving in one word I would say: “It’s way hot here”. Because it’s by the equator, in this area of the world there are no seasons, it’s just summer throughout the entire year. They don’t have air conditioning here either, so when I am in my house, studying or getting ready for the day, I am always sitting in front of a fan. You get used to the heat after awhile, don’t worry, after a few months it feels very normal to just sweat every hour of the day.
We do have fun as missionaries! At the right times, in the right places, we missionaries have a blast. Everyone loves soccer here in Brazil, so we spend a lot of our P-days on the field. You are with your companion 24/7, so you learn to become friends very quickly, and there are always a lot of jokes and stories to tell to keep you entertained while you are walking to your next appointment.
One time, my companion and I played a prank on the other companionship that lived in our apartment. We arrived a little earlier than them for the night and we threw some of their things on the floor, opened up their bags and left them open and disorganized, then took all of the cameras and electronics and hid them in the kitchen. We left the door unlocked and ajar. When they came home a little bit later, we were hiding in the kitchen and we heard them enter very cautiously. One of the Elders had only 3 months on the mission, and we heard him say, “Dude, I think someone broke into our house!”, in kind of a loud, scared whisper. They started looking through their things. His senior companion was a boxer; he was always talking about how he would take someone out if they tried to mug him (which happens here occasionally), just a big, strong, funny guy. He started panicking, “We gotta call the police!” I think I made a sound or something because the new missionary said “I think they are still in here!” They both booked it for the door. My companion and I came out of the house laughing. It was really hilarious; we joked about it for awhile and then helped them pick up everything we had disorganized.
You will still be yourself on your mission and still have fun; it helps keep you sane. Don’t think that you’ll leave for the mission and become a robot, because what the mission is, is a holy, life-changing, personal experience, and you come out of it a better person, but still you. It’s the person you’ll be for the rest of your life, so make sure the person you become is someone you’d be proud of, someone our Heavenly Father would be proud of.
I was trying to think of a good spiritual experience to share and I kept on remembering this one night my companion and I went to teach this 17-year old girl and her mother. It’s not a huge miraculous story, but I felt impressed that it was the right one to write to you all about. I arrived in a new area with a new companion and on our first night; we started to plan our week. He had been in the area awhile already, so I asked him, “Elder, is there anyone ready that we can baptize this week?”
He got a discouraged look on his face and said that there was someone, this girl named Clarissa, who he had been teaching for a few weeks already. She had read part of the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and received an answer to her prayers that not only was the book was true, but that the church we represented was the one she needed to join. She had attended church every Sunday since then and had started going to Seminary every day as well. Clarissa wanted to be baptized and was ready for it, but she had one problem that was preventing her: her mother, for whatever reason was doubtful about the church and reluctant to let her daughter get baptized. When I heard my companion explain this to me, in kind of a frustrated way, I just thought silently by myself for a minute and then I had this idea enter into my mind all of the sudden. I said, “Let’s pray right now for Clarissa.” We did so. When we finished, I said, once more, with thoughts entering my mind about these people I had never met,
“Let’s go to their house tomorrow and convince Clarissa’s mother to let her daughter get baptized.”
That night we prayed more, that we would say the right things and the Spirit would help us the next day. The next morning we prayed specifically that the encounter would be successful, and during our study time we planned and practiced what we would say to Clarissa’s mother. Before we left the house, we prayed again that her heart would be softened. By the time we arrived at our appointment with Clarissa and her mom, we felt prepared to do something miraculous. Still, as we sat down and began talking, we realized that we would have to be tested. Clarissa’s mother is a good woman, but she was doubtful about the church, hard-hearted and critical. At first, as we began to talk, it seemed she would never change her mind. She told us that Clarissa was not ready to make such a big decision and that she had other responsibilities in life that were more important. But, we began to teach her about baptism, we unfolded the scriptures and shared with her our testimonies about why we knew it was important. We spoke with the Spirit and power of God, and lovingly answered the questions that Clarissa’s mother had. I saw, at one point in this conversation, a different light turn on in the mother’s eyes. She felt the power of the Spirit, not because of her faith, but because Heavenly Father was answering our prayers and preparing a way for one of His elect to enter the waters of baptism. When the time came, we asked Clarissa’s mother for her authorization for Clarissa to be baptized and she told us she would sign whatever papers we would bring her.
That Saturday, Clarissa entered the baptismal font, dressed in white, and made a holy covenant with God that she would follow Him, and symbolized this by being baptized. Clarissa was elect, she has always had a special destiny that she would find and join this wonderful church. I see her often and she is happier now, because of the gospel.
These are the people you will have to find, they are waiting for you out there and Heavenly Father is doing His part, preparing and planning the circumstances in which you will meet. You will have to defend these people from the obstacles, temptations and distractions they will face. You will have to help them recognize the Spirit and receive blessings from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father needs you; He needs servants on Earth to act through.
Close your eyes for a few seconds and imagine yourself as if you were looking in the mirror. That person you see needs to become the servant of the Lord that will be worthy and able enough to help bring to pass the plans of our Heavenly Father. I’ve seen missionaries give up and go home. They gave up the plan that the Father had prepared for them. This can’t be your destiny. You’ve got be ready when you enter the mission, ready to learn, ready to change, ready to suffer a bit at times, but willing to follow the plan the Lord has for you right to the end. I know that if we’re willing to make whatever sacrifice to follow the Lord, He’ll lead us somewhere that’s worth it. We’ve just got to trust Him.
You might feel like you are not the smartest, you might feel like you aren’t a people person or the physical type that can walk in the sun for miles every day. But whatever weakness you have, as long as you trust in the Lord, follow what He says, your weaknesses will become strengths and you will become that powerful miracle-working missionary that you need to be. We all have that potential.
Go on a mission, guys. You’re going to see things and feel things you never imagined. You’re going to change, become a better you, think better, act better. It’s going to drastically help your life, as long as you trust in the Lord, follow Him, and let it.
I know the power of God is real, I know that man can only find it within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I know that everyone of us has a holy and sacred destiny to accomplish in this life. I share this with you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
