May 20, 2018 Mosiah 2:41 ". . .blessed and happy state. . "

Last week was so good to speak to all of you guys. For me it was probably the least trunky call because usually after we skype we really miss everything back at home. I’m not saying that I don’t miss you all! but maybe it’s the fact that I go home in two transfers. I felt good and I went back to work and it was a normal day for me. But it was really good to see you all and talk for a little.

This week we had a zone conference and my companion, and I had to give a training to the 3 zones that were there. It went well, it was about finding when we teach and teaching when we find. Many times we find people to teach just by reactivating a less active.

Our training was more centered on recent converts. It’s our responsibility to bring the members to them and re-teach the lessons and many times we do find more people to teach just by doing that.

This week we will also have a musical activity on the Book of Mormon. We are planning it as a zone and it sounds like the stake president will be going and even president and sister Taylor.  I will be playing the role as Joseph Smith. My part is basically the testimony of Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon. Ill bare testimony of the Angel Moroni and the golden plates while a video passes behind me on a big screen. We have some good music planned too. One elder plays the violin really well, I’ll be playing a few of the songs on the piano but there is another elder that will play a lot of the songs for the choir which will be the zone.

The zone is doing so well, lots of success and we just have the best missionaries in our zone. The elder that I trained while I was in Arapiraca is in the zone and they are just having so much success. Like two baptisms every week and next week they have 5 baptisms that are set. Everyone else is also just doing so well, this week everyone in the zone hit the standard of excellence for new investigators and for investigators in the church.

I love the scripture in Mosiah 2:41   "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." 

The Lord blesses us when we are obedient in all things, it can be connected to diligence because we need to be diligently quick to obey. I have seen so many blessings in the zone just because of that. I know I brag a lot about my zone but it’s because of the obedience and diligence that the missionaries have been practicing.

 The attribute last week was diligence, so we actually study it for two weeks. I don’t know why but we just felt to continue study diligence for not one week but for two. Tomorrow we will decide our next attribute. Maybe patience, charity and love, virtue, meekness, knowledge, or I really liked gratitude also, that’s a great one.

Skype was great even though everyone was way trunky hahaha. I hope everyone has a great week!  Tchau!

May 14, 2018 Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day, so we were able to Skype with Braden.  No letter this week.  It was great to see him and hear his voice.

May 6, 2018 The Still Small Voice

Hey family! 

This week was hard when it came to teaching new people because we were running around all week doing baptismal interviews but by the end of the week we got the ward really excited to work. 

This week it looks like we have someone to leave with us almost every day! 

Something interesting that I have learned this week is inspiration and revelations comes way more clearly and directly in our spiritual meetings. It doesn’t mean that we don’t receive inspiration when we aren't in those meetings but for me I receive these promptings during prayer and during study but then in these meetings they are magnified to me. I thought it was so interesting. 

I was sitting in sacrament and just names and people and members where flying through my head, it was like the Spirit was just telling me almost as it was in person! 

Something that the prophet has said is that God has so much to tell us and He wants to tell us many things. I remember feeling that everything that the Spirit was telling me was true, but it wasn’t just a loud voice He speaks to us so quietly, if I wasn’t praying or listening in Church then I don't think that I would have even heard it! 

Something that I like that President Russel M Nelson has said is to pray, listen, write down our thoughts, and act. And if practice makes perfect then the more we pray, listen, write, and act then the faster we can recognize or receive revelation. I really like the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants when the Lord commands Joseph and Oliver to write everything down while they were still filled with the Spirit. Even the Prophet Joseph Smith did it!

So my companion is really awesome, he is from Paraná Brazil, it’s in the south of Brazil. He served in the military and is just an overall great guy, I have been blessed my entire mission to have 

such great companions. 

This week we taught a lesson to an old guy outside of his house with tons of birds and chickens running around, to me it was normal but then I thought about what it would be like in the states and I thought "wow, this is not normal"! ha-ha he was a nice guy, he wants to get married and baptized so we are helping him. Afterwards he gave us a whole wheel barrel full of coconuts and avocados, I didn’t want to accept it but I think he would have gotten offended if I didn’t ha-ha. 

Tomorrow my companion and I have to give a training to all the zone leaders at the president’s house on the importance of bringing our investigators to church. Pray that the Spirit can be with us. 

This week we presented the new attribute to the zone, we are all studying about faith.

Wow it has already been a great study, it is so amazing to see how everything connects like a puzzle. Faith, humility, and obedience are all so connected and every week I have understood more about each one. It’s fun to see how much something pops up when you are actually looking for it. I will be just studying about anything and things about faith will pop up, last week it was obedience that was just popping up everywhere! Even the president's weekly message this week is called "FAITH" what a "coincidence" right. 

And you’re right the mission is such a marathon there are those points where we don’t see the finish line and we don’t think that we can make it but seeing those people on the side lines holding up 

your name routing for ya sure helps us continue and it gives us the motivation to press forward,

thanks for being the ones routing for me on the sideline and giving me motivation to always continue. 

Thanks for the prayers, they make all the difference 

I hope everyone has a great week 

Elder Toma

April 29, 2018 Transfers

Dear Family, 

So this week is the transfer. 

I will be staying in my area Boa Vista and I’ll be training a new zone leader. My companion is going to be transferred even though he has been here for only 5 weeks! 

But the president needs him somewhere and I think that is how the mission should be. If the president feels good about something, then it must be right. 

This week we had to cut some investigators unfortunately. It seems like lots of people talk bad about our religion, like it’s a cult or something and they end up giving up when they hear 

those things from friends or family members. 

But on the bright side we have found lots of new investigators to teach. One of them loved the lesson and has been searching for the true church and another cried in the opening prayer just by feeling the Spirit. 

Something that I learned this week was that my companion and I had a day this week which was just rough. We got rejected by everyone, we put some of our favorite investigators in the area book, and we had a lesson with a crazy woman and her house was just filled with bad feelings. It started pouring on us, it was about 8:20 and we still had 40 minutes before we had to go home. My first thought was, let’s just give up and go do the area book. But we continued until we knocked on someone’s door and when this contact answered the door, she smiled and wanted us to come in. 

That was the lesson of the night! she loved it and wanted to know more! she took the Book of Mormon and was just excited to read it. After we started going back home, my companion was like "I felt like giving up today, I was going to just say let’s do the area book" but good thing that we didn’t. Because if we did, we would have missed that lesson. 

It reminds me of Nephi when he went to go get the plates and he didn’t achieve them the first time, nor the second, but on the third try he got the brass plates. 

many times it’s on the last try that we succeed. The first will be last and the last will be first ha-ha. 

This week’s attribute in the zone was exact obedience. It’s the first law of heaven and definitely an important one. 

The example that i shared was a perfect example of it. Even though many people say that they don’t see the blessings from obedience, many times I believe that obedience blesses the people around us. 

Congrats to Mckinzie and Mark!

It’s good to see the whole family together. 

I miss you guys but three transfers is too little! 

Hope everyone has a great week! 

Love 

Elder Toma