Wedding Crasher (Week 58)

Hello All!

I don't have much time to email today! Yesterday I was in Teresina for the mission counsel. It was awesome. I was also transferred. I will now be the zone leader in the other São Luiz Stake. I used to be in the São Luiz East stake. So I will know all of São Luiz.

My new companion is Elder Halls! He is awesome. He is from Kaysville, Utah. He has three months left on the mission. We also have a brand new house!! Super super fancy. Lucked out on that one. We are living with two other missionaries. Elder Evora from Cape Verde and Elder Sabina from São Paulo.

We had a baptism this week!!! Jose Marcos. He is the nephew of Irma Natinha that we baptized a couple weeks ago. They live 18 km from the church. We also baptized him Sunday morning at 7:30am. We woke up super early. Left with a member to go pick him up 18 km away. Baptized, and then confirmed. He is 18 years old.

Last week was insane. As always. We were traveling all over the place doing interviews. I even crashed a wedding last week. There was a man that was getting married on Friday at the church building in Cidade Operaria so he can be baptised on Saturday. Well we arrived late to interview him and it was the only time I had to interview him before his baptism. So I stopped the wedding for like 10 minutes, brought him to a room in the back to do the interview. He was baptized this Saturday.

Don't have the time today. Will send pictures to y'all next week!

Love,
Elder Hillam

Birthdays, Fruit, and Missionary Work (Week 57)

Hello all!!!

First off a Big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother Connor this week. Your super talented! Keep it up!

Also today, is Elder Smith's 19th birthday!! Parabens meu amigo!

Elder Smith and I are receiving some awesome revelation. God is opening up paths and ideas where there seemed like there wasn't anywhere to go. My Grandma Hillam sent a great quote from President Hinckley: "I believe that God will always make a way where there is not a way. I believe that if we will walk in obedience to the commandments of God, if we will follow the counsel of the priesthood, he will open a way even where there appears to be not way."
I know that Elder Smith and I are being super diligent and obedient and were blessed because of it.

This week we put a big focus on the sacrament. Many times this week we taught about the sacrament as one of the first things and the follow up through the week as well.  We explained about the atonement and why we go to church. We applied this across the zone and saw a huge increase in investigators going to church.

The Book of Mormon is one of our greatest tools. We saw that in the zone one of the things that we were lacking was showing how the Book of Mormon blesses our lives. How the Book of Mormon answers the questions of our soul. We taught the people why they need this sacred scripture,

Had a lunch on Saturday that was super cool. But really long.
It was a house of a member that lives by the beach. The route there and his land was probably one of the most beatiful places that I have seen here. So many kinds of fruit trees. Hammocks in the shade. picking what ever kind of fruit that you want just outside your house--one km from the beach. It was awesome.

This week I experimented Amêndoa and tamarindo (the fruit itself.) Super good!

Have a fantastic week!
Eat some good fruit.


Love Elder Hillam

Picture:

In the LAN House today

The Right Kind of Tired (Week 56)

It's a wonderful feeling to return to your house at night physically, mentally, and spiritually tired--knowing that you gave it all; no really it's a great feeling.
Elder Smith and I are helping the zone walk together--helping them all to do the Lords' will. We are working with our district leaders to magnify their calling. Administrating and designating all that we can. We know that Lord will bless us with our hard work here. When the Nephite people walked together with the Lord's will, they prospered in the land. This is what we want for our zone. We want and need to receive the blessings of the Lord.

We will have another meeting this week regarding the new Lima Verde ward! We are preparing a report on the work that the zone accomplished in this area. Super excited. We should be constructing here soon.

I'm getting better at my hair cutting game. Learned some new scissor and clipper techniques with Ravy. He's a member. Enjoy the photos.

About every two weeks in the mission you experiment a new fruit. This week was ingá. It's pretty good! Look it up! 


Have a great week!
Elder Hillam

Pictures:

There's a setting on our refrigerator that says super cold. So we tried it over night. It froze our eggs

Cutting hair with Ravy

Cutting hair with Ravy

Learning Your Duty (Week 55)

Hello everyone!!

Super exciting to hear about the new ward and stake boundaries! What a blessing to be a part of this dispensation and to help in the gathering of Israel. The work is accelerating on every part of the world.


It's been a lot of fun this week to work hard with Elder Smith. He is from Hooper Utah. He has had some great ideas to apply to the zone!


This week we had an awesome zone conference. I love the feeling leaving zone conference full of the spirit and excited to apply all that we learned. Elder Smith and I gave a great training about being a successful missionary. Gaining a love and a desire for the salvation of these souls.
If you are not being diligent in the area book or in whichever part of the work, or not being obedient, and then you tell the people that you love them and desire their salvation... this my friend is a lie. The spirit will not testify if you are not doing your job. We have to be diligent in all things. I love Doctrine and Covenants 107:99-100.

99 Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.

100 He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so. Amen.


Adriano went to institute! We passed by the chapel Saturday night to find him cleaning the church!! What a stud.

We will have more baptisms this next week!! Let's keep it up!!

I discover a new fruit about every 3 weeks on the mission. This week was Jambu

Pictures:

1st class bus on the way back to São Luiz

Birthdays!!

Elder Kaiser working on his BYU application.

Elder Kaiser--incredible missionary!

Zone Conference Pizza

Elder Groom!!