This was a very busy week filled with many great activities. On Tuesday, we drove 1hr 10min to Porto and then road a bus for 4hr with E/S Frank & Darlene Ramsey to Lisbon. We arrived in time to have a meal with all the senior missionaries in our mission. There are 22 of us!
Wednesday, was a Sisters Conference in the morning then we went to the temple at 12:30PM. After the temple we returned to Porto on a very hot 4hr 30min train ride. Thursday was Zone Conference and Saturday was the first convert baptism in Vila Real since at least 2020.
Next to us are E/S Reed & Marcia Mecham; E/S Stan & Brenda Benedict; E/S Bruce & Debbie Seibold; E/S Daniel & Dianne Erickson; E/S Brian & Jennifer Bremner; E/S Frank & Darlene Ramsey.
In addition to the 7 couples (in the above photo) that serve throughout Portugal, there are 4 couples that are temple missionaries.
E/S Duffles; Benedict; Us; Seibold; Mecham; Bremner; Erickson; McMillan; Wilcox; Brown; Ramsey
Sisters Conference reminded me of a cruise! It was very well done!
After our hot train ride we went to dinner with E/S Brian & Jennifer Bremner. They are from Panguitch, Utah and serve on the Island of Terceira.
Zone Conference in Porto with about 70 missionaries.
Valentina Néves Rendall, was baptized on Saturday (7/16) by her son in law Ricardo Cardoso. Her face glowed!
President Barcellos performed the confirmation.
English class from June 14th-Valentina and her husband Antonio
Elder Williams on June 14th teaching one of the first lessons to Valentina and Antonio.
There were 28 people that attended the baptism. The most in a Sacrament meeting has only been 26. We had a potluck meal after the baptism.
SCRIPTURE POWER
In Mosiah 9-10 Mormon, includes a first person direct quote from Zeniff. He mentions that he saw good among the Lamanites but describes only the bad: “Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields” (Mosiah 9:12) “They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people,“ (Mosiah 10:12)
Interestingly, Zeniff had been part of a Nephite faction that intended to take back their former land by force. Assigned to spy on the Lamanite armies to determine an attack strategy, Zeniff saw that there was good among the Lamanites, and desired that his leader withdraw his military objectives and instead make a treaty. For advocating this alternative view, Zeniff was condemned to death. His rescue came at a terrible price, leaving the greater part of the group dead; a surviving few (fifty) returned to Zarahemla (Mosiah 9:1–2; Omni 1:27–30).
Zeniff says: “I saw that which was good among them” (Mosiah 9:1) Perhaps, he is referring to the good that Jacob, had earlier described: “they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them… Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children” (Jac. 3:5, 7)
Interestingly, his son Noah does just the opposite.
“And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father.
For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.” (Mosiah 11: 1-2)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said: “It’s a very thin pancake that doesn’t have two sides” phrased also as: “No matter how thin the pancake, it always has two sides.”
We are blessed to see that which is good among the people of Portugal!
No comments:
Post a Comment