Tenacity [12/18/14]

Well, well, well... I have to start out by apologizing to everyone, especially mom, for not writing for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I still haven't had a p-day this month - I´m seriously dying, haha. Each time Pday comes around, some sort of meeting happens or a missionary in my house has to go to Campinas to talk with President resulting in a loss of Pday. I tried to get permission last week but I got shut down by the assistant (who by the way was one of my companions... haha). But, because its been so long, Sister Perrotti told me that ´´my mom should be worrying about me´´ and that I should write a letter home today. So, regardless of mom actually worrying or not, I at least have an hour today to write home and talk about some things that have happened this past month.

I wrote ´´Tenacity´´ as the title this week because of a talk Elder Evans of the Seventy gave last month (I think it was at BYU). One of the secretaries printed it out and gave it to me while I was in Campinas last week. But WOW, did that talk put some fire in the bones... I seriously am dead. I've been waking up between 3:50-4:50 the past three weeks to take bus rides to various cities, shutting my body down yesterday. I about threw up on a bus ride because of being tired. Haha I'm stupid! Not stupid, stupid, but seriously wiped out like I've never been before. I later found a seat on the bus yesterday and ran to get it. I sat next to a woman and started a conversation with her about her family, and before she responded, I was asleep on her shoulder.... No joke! Haha I woke up to her tapping me on my shoulder saying that ´´the bus arrived...´´

But, with this incredible exhaustion I've learned a lot about the enabling power of the atonement. I seriously have energy like I've never had before on the mission when I'm visiting our investigators. It makes me feel good. Haha I don't know how to explain it... But I look in the mirror, see the exhaustion in my body, and then scare it away... Haha that's so lame, but it's true. I've never needed the atonement so much and I've never recognized in this way. It's a huge testimony to me that I was called by Him.

As of recently, I've experienced a couple of trials. Some of them being with exercises in the morning. For example, Dustin and Matt should like these: I ripped the pull-up bar off the door and slammed my head on the ground 2 weeks ago and last weekend I was running down stairs and slipped and rolled down like a snowball until the end - feet in the air, head facing toward the bottom... Haha I just laid there for a while as my knees, legs, hands and elbows were scrapped and bleeding. Haha no one was there to rescue me because my companion was in the bathroom and all of our neighbors were sleeping.

Others have been with investigators. For example, last Sunday we finished teaching Maria and Mariana (mom and daughter) who were interviewed Saturday night for their baptism on Sunday. We showed up Sunday morning all excited and their old church spent the entire night in the house, telling them how we aren't Christians, how we are a cult, that we don't like people, etc... Man, I just wanted to sit down and cry. Not only physical exhaustion has reached it´s limit, but spiritually as well on Sunday. Thanks to the atonement however, the Sacrament breathed the needed fire in the body to leave Sunday and find some awesome new investigators.

To end, I've been studying about Moroni.Today I read a verse in 48:12 that talks about the way he worked... In short, Moroni was tenacious in the way he lead his people. He lost the drive at times but understood his purpose (ch 1 of PMG). At this point on the mission, I´m a happy man. I'm physically spent but I feel good. And through the atonement, I'm being buoyed up and strengthened. As the last 6 months of the mission have begun, I hope I can return home like Moroni - TENACIOUS.

This is His work. Jesus is the Christ. I'm happy to be one of His soldiers, in the Last Days. Until Christmas!

Love,

Elder Welch