One Year!!

I love that the whole family likes to sing!! It's gonna be so cool when I get back!  Yea, I know, right?!  I can't believe a year has passed, either!  I'm realizing that this thing will end way sooner than I want! I´d love to write a lot, but this computer is going really slow.  I´ve been waiting 30 min for it to work. grr. But I´m doing great!  I had planned to write a big letter, but looks it won't work out too well because I still need to write my president. I´ll talk about this week and maybe write about the year on paper. 

But então [then] this week I´ve learned a lot about recognizing the spirit and how powerful fasting is.  We (the missionaries, the ward missionaries and the ward mission leader) fasted that we could teach people and find people to teach and in fim [end] baptisms!!  Now that me and elder are able to work, we are finding people to teach.  We have a family that went to church on Sunday and then 2 other investigators that we didn't even think would come! We also found a few others that couldn't come this week but next week will! So there really is a power in Fasting! 

I´ve been studying a lot in chapt. 4 in Preach My Gospel (Recognizing the Spirit) and... WOW!  I have been having so many moments where I knew that God´s hand was in it! I´ve also realized that my prayers are changing and becoming way more meaningful! I love the relationship I'm developing with My Heavenly Father and as I have been doing this, He's been answering my prayers!... or I`ve just been able to recognize Him. He is definitely making me a Instrument sharper in His hands! 

Now we´ll have a huge opportunity to hear from our Prophet! I´m super excited for this!!  I´ve been reading the Liahona from Conference of November 2012 this month... And man it's getting me super pumped for this weekend! 

Well, that's about all the exciting news from this week, but I´ll send pics too haha.  We cooked this week!  I also got a present from Guilherme, but I´m wasn't able to take a picture with him, and so that will come next week!

I love y'all!

Elder Sharp

 We made Pie!!

  And Chicken stroganoff 

My pants split at a multi-zone conference!!!

 ...But Sister Dalton helped me out!!

WORK

This week I learned a lot about how your desires are more important that any number. This week Elder Aguilar and I got to start working! Gosh it never felt so good to leave the house to work, and we just went crazy! It was so nice to just work I realize that before this period of a broken companion, I was starting to be more worried about what others saw in my numbers and not what the Lord saw in my work... so God made sure I couldn't work for a few weeks and let me go crazy.  Then taught me about having confidence in Him. Now we´re just wanting to work! I love it -- it's so much easier to work this way without comparing myself to others and just working because of my love of the Lord and this gospel! This week is gonna be great!

Another thing I got to do is study a talk given to a mission by some mission president somewhere in the world called the fourth missionary. It's really good!  It talked a lot about how the 4th missionary is the missionary that is obedient and does his work for his love of the work and puts his heart AND mind on the work! And that's something I´ve realized I gotta do better. And I think I'm starting to do that and I´m way happier workin' now! I think that the goal of Satan is for us to forget the "Why"  that we decide to go on a mission or any other thing we do.  As we read the scriptures and go to church, we learn or relearn that "Why." 

I love this gospel!  I came here because of the change it did in my life and the change I know it can put on families. I've seen this message save families and marriages!

Eu Amo Vocês!
Elder Sharp

Learning Lessons

So  I am learning to be more specific in my prayers haha!  One time we were praying to find more new investigators and we found them, but they were all for the other area (this was my last area).  My Companion and I were like,  "Oh OK, Heavenly Father, we get it... be more specific." He certainly has a sense of humor haha!  After we prayed more specifically we actually started to find more! It's really cool when you think you learn something and you try it, and It actually all works out!

This week was a little stressful. My companion is still recuperating.  We tried to set up with the members for me do some work, but it didn't work out as great this week like last week, so I wound up staying home for 4 of the 7 days and went a little crazy. (I´ve learned don't like to be stuck at home! haha) But I asked for a blessing from my companion. and I realized how much I was mistrusting in God. I was like,  "Wow!  I´ve had so much trust in Him and when things start to look off, I stop."  That's not right, but that the great thing about missions - you go through a lot of tests to see where your weaknesses are and then you WORK on your weaknesses!  After that blessing, I got much better, and I know that everything is going to be all right the end! 

Sadly we'll have to drop Cida and Jenny (the deaf girl).  They aren't progressing so we'll have to let them go and let Heavenly Father prepare them a little longer.

I love the Gospel Principles class, too! In Brazil it sometimes get funny because here almost all of the other churches have a lot yelling and so sometimes they start to yell or they believe in some of the craziest things, but I´ve heard that there was a prophet that said that he learns more from that class then any other class that he went to. It makes sense, because they're not always the same primary answers you know? 

It's really interesting being a District Leader.  I have to plan trainings for my District based on what I see needs to be better and revelation, and I realizing that I´m learning how to give talks or how to do the things that I´ve always been scared of doing! It's so cool to see things I couldn't do before and now I´m doing it every day or week! 

Thanks for the support and the email! I love the counsel, Dad, and I´ve been learning that a lot... the greater the sacrifice, the greater the growth.  It's a little annoying to not have baptisms, but I know that God is preparing something BIG for me - and I cant wait!

But ya It's great! Elder Aguilar should be good on Thursday!

I love y'all,

Elder Sharp

Great Week!!

Mom, I loved you said about the people wanting to go to the temple. The General Presidency sent out new instructions for us to teach all 5 lessons. So we teach baptisms for the dead before baptisms, but it's really cool because we have them imagine a loved one that they lost and teach them that this loved one has already learned about the gospel and wants to be baptized, but she can't because she's a spirit. Now the person is waiting and watching anxiously to see what decision the investigator will make! It's one of the most powerful things I´ve ever taught here! And it works! Sometimes they´ll have doubts about baptisms for the dead, but there's proof in 1 Peter 3:18-20 or 4:6 also in 1 Corinthians 15:29.

 But ya this week was cool! We did a lot of splits with the young men (mostly Guilherme and Mateus). We tried our best to find more people to teach. We found a few, but not really firm yet... but It was really great going with the youth because I got to see how much I´ve changed and improved! I realized that habits I'd had disappeared. It was a really great experience! I´m also learning a lot about things I need to teach better and stuff like that too! It's crazy, but being District leader my mind has opened up and I´ve been improving in a lot of weaknesses. Like having the courage to correct someone disobedient and correct in a way that they know I´m not trying to have authority over them. Heavenly Father has been helping a lot with that part haha!

 I´m loving it here! We´ve been finding people to teach... and even greater I`m getting to find families! We´ve found 3 families in the past 2 weeks and in the month 5!  Our focus has changed from Baptism to Temple! And thanks to this, we are being blessed with FAMILIES!!

 Man, haha, this church is so true and so great! I love this Gospel and my Savior!

 I LOVE Y'ALL!
Elder Sharp

Another Week

That's awesome that y'all got that break!  It's crazy to think that Dustin will already be 16! 

This transfer I'll be on the mission for 1 year! It's crazy how fast it's gone by! But in such a short time, a lot of growing and changing has happened! I definitely am a different person- haha and it is definitely a good difference!

Sadly this week I don't have much to write.  I had to stay at home (again) for basically the whole week because my companion is still recovering from a surgery.  It started hurting and getting swollen, so I had to stay home. I've noticed that I´ve had do this every transfer here in Brazil haha, and it's never because I got sick haha. 

At the end of the week, we got to do a big family night at the church, and at the end we had a game called "torta na cara" where we had questions and 2 people had to answer the question and the one that was slower to respond or responded wrong go pie-d in the face haha!  It was really fun and then at end Guilherme snuck on me and BAM I was pie-d!  Haha it was really fun and really helped the ward get animated!

That's about it for this week!

I love you guys so much and miss you all too!

Elder Sharp

We had an activity called torta na cara or pie in the face and well after the activity the elder were attacked too! hahah I went Super Sayan  :P

I finally ate Mcdonald's - haha it's the same here.