hey

This week has been interesting....

I have gained a testimony about inspired questions...Yesterday we visited a contact that we did on the street...his name is Amadeus. Yes, like Amadeus motzart. He was just walking down the street and he stopped us and asked us what we do. He is in fact evangelical, but a recent convert to that church and is learning to follow christ. well, he asked us if we preach the end of the world and if we think the end of the world is coming... of course I told him no, but the Second coming of Christ is coming, and his eyes lit up, " you really think so?", "I don't think so, I know so" "Wonderful, would you guys mind passing by my house and we can talk about it for a little bit this saturday?" "we would be glad to". Well, we passed by his house, or his shack more like, you remember the house where the Hulk was staying (in human form) at the begining of the movie the Avengers? where the walls are made of random planks of wood, the roof is plastic bottles and the walls inbetween rooms are thin sheets? yup. We walked in and the wooden stove in the middle of the room was smoking, he ran outside and removed a paint can that was on top of the smoke stack (to prevent rain from entering) just to give a visual about where this man lives. Well, (actually I think I will include this story in the main letter so hmmm...whatever) he started talking and talking and talking and talking, my companion was getting a little annoyed that he was talking so much, but I was listening, listening is a huge part of missionary work, and is definitely something that we all need to work on. Well, it turns out that after about 15 minutes of him talking, he began telling us about how he found Christ...he was a cocaine addict, alcoholic, and 3 boxes of cigarette smoker daily. He overdosed one day and whent to the ICU, afterwards, he decided to go to rehab (a rare thing here in brazil) where he spent 6 months. Six months of battling hell and his own desires (of his body) he was sleeping one night and had a dream, in the dream he was led by the Holy Ghost to the ocean (of which he has never seen in his poor state) and the Holy Ghost asked him what he saw, he replied the Ocean, the Holy Spirit responded that it was a creation of God and that it is beautiful, and perfect, and a giver of life. God gave him his life, and he needs to make it beautiful, perfect, and he needs to help others and help them live. Well, turns out that he was in a coma, 3 days later he woke up. It was the middle of the night and he was in his hospital bed. He looked over to the door of the room, and he said that he saw a man. The man beckoned him to come. He arose and approached the man, and asked him who he was. The man shook his hand and told him that he was Jesus Christ, and that he had knocked at the door and entered. The investigator, Amadeus looked at the door, it was locked and the guards were asleep. The man, Jesus Christ, asked him what his desires were. He responded that he desired to return to the presence of his Father in Heaven. Christ asked him how he plans to do that. He responded that he needed to give up his addiction to Cocaine, Alcohol, and cigarettes. Christ replied, and thus by your faith it shall be done. He did not share the rest of the story, but continued to tell us that the next day he left the Rehab center and has yet to touch cigarette, alcohol or cocaine again. He was wandering in the streets and asked God to give him guidance. He united with the first church he found, and found faith in Christ. Two years later, he asked God through prayer how he can become a better man, grow in faith, and obtain eternal salvation. He decided to dedicate everything he did to God, two hours later, he stopped us on the road and asked us about the second coming of Christ. He is the poorest man I have ever taught, yet he is the richest. I am truely honored to be working with him here in Erechim, and I am excited to see if he accepts the Restored Gospel.

My new companion? Elder P. Souza from Maurillia, interior de São Paulo. He now has 3 weeks on the mission. My old companion? Elder Lucas de Souza, he got transfered to Moreira Cesar, Caxias do Sul. We are here in Erechim.

I know that this church is true, and that God is preparing the world for the second coming of Christ.

Te amo, e A Igreja é verdadeira.

Elder Eliason