Elder Gurksnis Goes to Brazil

This past week everything went smooth with Paula and Cristiano's baptism. They are such a special couple that I have grown to love so much. They brought a ton of family members to the baptism which was great for them to get to know the church as well. They are going to be such a firm couple who will be able to serve God's children in everything they do. I had the opportunity to baptize Cristiano and then confirm Paula the next day. They were both such special events and we are really happy with the progress they have had. I know the Lord will bless them for the decisions they are making right now.  We are also teaching a few other awesome people. We were able to have success with one of our favorite things this week. We love to open up the church and invite everyone out on the street to come in and see it for themselves on the inside. The spirit is always so strong and we are able to teach with lots of power.  This past week I've had a little bit of time to refl...

This morning we had the very special privilege to take Cristiano and Paulo to get married civilly. They have felt the truthfulness of the gospel in their hearts and have decided to follow this commandment and get married so they can be baptized. This past week we had a family home evening with them at Presidents house with his whole family. It was so fun to be together as a group and talk about how the gospel has blessed each one of our lives. So President is a stud and invited Cristiano to be baptized together with Paula and he told us that he was "still thinking about it". We were a little bummed but with high hopes. Today at the marriage place, Paula told us that he had started telling his family that he was gonna be baptized too! haha so we are pretty sure it will all work out. It will certainly be an unforgettable day. He's always surprising us like that. Sometimes he'll just grab the Book of Mormon and talk about something he was studying haha.  Our President...

What a crazy week its been here in the mission office. Yesterday, we had a meeting with Salt Lake City pretty much to get into the transition of making South American missions like United States missions haha. So like I said earlier, our mission was selected to be a pilot project for having smartphones, etc. in South America. This past week the project was approved and they are gonna start going through with other missions as well. And even more than that, we are gonna have Facebook, data on our phones, and other things that will help hasten the work to colligate Israel. Its been pretty crazy trying to get this all set up with President, so I'm pretty exhausted this week.  I dont have a ton to report on this week. We have continued working a lot with our current teaching group and its been going well. Paula and Cristiano have their wedding this next wednesday that we are pumped for! The time has been a little short in our area just cause of so much stuff we are involved in. It ...

This Sunday all went well at Gracielle's baptism. It was even more than we could ask for. She is the cutest little girl and she wouldnt show her excitedness in front of us cause she's shy but her mom said she was going crazy excited haha. Her dad who isnt a member was at church and at the baptism and I feel like he is really progressing a lot. We went up to him after the baptism and jokingly asked when would be his turn, and he said it would be soon!! We were pretty pumped and that would unite this whole family in the gospel, cause he's the only one who isnt baptized.  Another highlight of the week was taking Paula and Cristiano to the temple and the visitors center. It was a really great experience and they really felt at home. They loved to be able to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ in a new and different way. They were at church for maybe the 6th straight week (they´re on fire ) and the marriage is coming up in just 2 short weeks! We even planned a Family Home...

Nothing makes me happier in this life than seeing someone who I have helped here in Brazil continue to progress on the gospel path. This week I have received lots of great news of converts from my mission. I have been able to follow up a lot with the couple Rafael and Pamela that I baptized in the middle of my mission. They are doing so well. Certainly, they have plenty of difficulties, but I've been able to help them progress to get temple recommends so that one day they can be sealed as a family with their 4 kids. Also, another woman I helped in my last area will be going to the temple tomorrow and also receiving her patriarchal blessing! If there has been one thing that has constantly been in my prayers as a missionary, its that I could be able to see the fruits of my labor as I go forth with my mission and with my life. I thank the Lord each day for blessing me with the chance to meet these people and learn so much from them and be humbled as a person.  This week we wor...

So yeah...the executive secretary here on our mission hasnt renewed my visa and today it finally did me a little wrong. We were having our pday as a staff with President and out of no where our friends Paula and Cristiano called us telling us they wanted to go to the registry to mark their marriage right then. Haha so we ran to the place and actually everything seemed to be going right (this is rare). It was only me and my companion to be the 2 witnesses to the marriage and I had my passport with me, but the guy realized that my visa was expired. So sadly, after a lot of running around we werent even able to mark the marriage date today . But it'll all work out tomorrow morning and we will bring another Brasilian elder with us to be the other witness. But dont worry, my visa is in the process of being renewed so theres only a small chance that I'll be deported from Brasil... This week we had some great experiences like always. The most special, and one I certainly will reme...

So this week was a great one. The baptism went through with Paula! She actually already knew 2 people in our ward already so it was great to watch her be integrated in our ward. We're gonna get her involved with institute, church dances, etc. and I wont even be worried. Shes gonna stay super firm and I'm excited to see how the gospel will continue to change her life.  There were lots of other cool things that have happened this week. We saw some awesome things happen, people that may not end up making the choice to be baptized, but were nonetheless affected by our messages. Here are 2. 1- So we are teaching 2 people on the same street. They practically are neighbors. And one of them told us that the other one had out of no where decided to stop drinking cause she realized the bad it was doing for her body. I felt so proud in that moment knowing that she had made changes in her life that will help her be more in touch with the spirit.  2- One night we were knocking door...