Radio GaGa

As the Queen song rightly states, sometimes radio ga ga is all we hear. I feel like there's been a lot of ga ga happening that has tried to distract us and other people around here. I've been hearing a lot about the US elections, which is honestly the last thing I want to hear about. Also, this week I saw a trailer for the new Fantastic Beasts movie coming out, and in so doing saw and heard way too much for me to be thinking about here. Thirdly, a game between Benfica and Porto yesterday meant that 80% of the population here were busy at that time.

And yet life goes on! Yesterday we had a couple of incredible lessons, despite the game. The first one was the first time that we marked with Bispo to go teach with us. We talked to one of our lesser progressing investigators, Claudia. It's hard to meet with her, because even though she has a marido, he's never there at the same time she is. The lesson that we had with Bispo was incredible because when Bispo explained how he learned the truth of the Restoration, he explained it in a way that Claudia seemed to totally related with! She was super attentive every time that he spoke, and she seemed even more determined to search for the truth by the time we left. Bispo's such a cool guy, and he even asked to leave with us more this week!

Another cool thing that happened this past week was a lesson we had with Adilson and Lenira (the delicious ice cream treats people). We taught them about the first principles and ordenances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with a focus on baptism. Lenira was pretty doubtful when we explained that the baptism she made in the Catholic Church wasn't enough because it didn't have the right authority. We went right back to testifying about the Prophet Joseph Smith and how we know that this church does have that restored authority. I think she finally understood why it was so important to ask of God. Because we still don't have copies of the Book of Mormon to hand out, Elder Ronces lent them his so they could read 3 Nephi 11 and learn what Jesus Christ had to say on the matter of baptism. When we passed yesterday, they said they read! The only bad thing about it all was that we marked to take them to church but we didn't write it down, so we forgot! I felt pretty dumb about that, but they forgave us and said we could try again for this next week.

I think the coolest of all moments this week was with Marina and Elisio. Having taught them the Law of Chastity, we wanted to get them planning for marriage. As they don't live together, it's not technically necessary before baptism, but they have 2 children together so we weren't sure. We decided to take Totone and Maria over to talk to them about their experience. It was honestly one of the most perfect lessons I've ever been in on my mission. Their experience was similar enough that when they talked, you could just tell that Marina and Elisio were feeling the Spirit testify of marriage to them. They talked about how they wanted to marry, but they didn't have any way to sustain themselves. Then, suddenly, I got the impression that they didn't need to marry before baptism. I asked if they were willing to completely obey the Law of Chastity, and to be baptized by the end of the month. They agreed. So now the biggest obstacle is for Elisio to get to church. We'll definitely take care of that this week.

Anyways, This was a pretty good sized update for me, so I think I'll leave it at that. I love the Holy Ghost, and the way it's able to testify through me. Remember that this church is so freaking true. Love you all!

Abraço,

Elder Penner

Cemeteries of London

 

"God is in the houses, and God is in my head"

There you go. Managed to reference Halloween, Coldplay, and even express my
state of being for this past week. I had a really good time this past week!
Transfers happened this last week, which means that Elder Ronces and I are
staying. Elder Ronces and I have set down a really solid groove now, which
is working well for the both of us. I also feel that I'm a lot more
confident on knowing what to do and who to contact if we need anything. We
found the greatest place to get sorvetes here this week! They're like
frozen sweets that you can get in a bag or on a stick, like popsicles.
Except these sorvetes are a lot like icecream. It's like eating a little
pouch of chocolate or cookie flavored ice cream. It's the best!

For some strange reason, we weren't able to really talk to most of our more
progressing investigators this week, and most of the people we contacted
weren't interested in our message. I haven't really encountered anything
like it in our area until now. Despite this, my energy to teach and find
people has greatly increased recently. I felt that, even though the powers
of Satan tried to attack us in some way, we weren't even bothered.

We found ourself talking in English with a couple of our investigators this
week. First off, this man named Miguel, who's the dad of a couple of
investigators we had, asked that we pass by and help him with his
pronunciation of English. So we gave about a half an hour to help him out.
He thanked us, and even asked that we offer a prayer to leave him off! Then
yesterday we talked with this guy Fredy that we met on the street, who
asked us to teach him in English. We were hesitant at first because we
first and foremost wanted him to understand our message, but it became
apparent that he understood us well. He really wants to learn more about
the gospel, as well as have a Book of Mormon in English!

Our main success (and our only investigator to come to church yesterday)
was Erineu's girlfriend Ronisse. Even though she's a pretty shy person,
she's participating in our lesso

ns and in the classes at church, which is
great news! The more we talk about marriage with them, the more excited
they are for the 25th of this next month. It looks like we're going to have
a marriage for the month of November!

Funny story: yesterday we saw a bunch of drunk guys with a couple of
guitars coming the other way, and Elder Ronces commented that they were
going to serenade us. That's exactly what they did! They sang some popular
Christiany song, and they expected us to sing along, haha. I need to learn
one of those songs, really.

Happy Halloween! Hope your week goes well!

Abraço,
Elder Penner

Whispers in the Dark

As the new transfer rolls around this week, I hear the whispers of missionaries around me: will I stay? will I go? Who's going to train the supposed 10 new sister missionaries that are coming to the mission? It's all good fun, as long as you don't spend too much time fretting about it or acting like you're going to leave. Due to the fact that Elder Ronces have barely had 2 weeks together, we're pretty segure that nothing will happen to us. I mean, we're only just getting started in this area!

One of the best things that happened this past week is the spiritual progress of Marina and Elisio. We finally managed to get them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and both of them told us this week that they read and prayed about the truthfulness of the book. Both of them felt very strongly that it's true. I especially was touched by Elisio's reaction, because even before he had prayed he told us that he felt it was true when we taught him. I love the power of the Spirit, and what it brings into the hearts of these good people. Marina ended up being the only investigator that ended going to church this week, for the second time! We don't know yet why Elisio didn't go, but we'll see what's going on with him this week. I have super high hopes for them to be baptized by the end of next month!

This week we also found a very interesting character named Cristiano. He works a store, so it's a little hard to talk to him while he has to attend people every 5-10 minutes, but we still have managed to have some good discussions. The second time we visited him, he told us that he had prayed to know if this church was what he should do, and he felt like he should just worship God in his own way. We talked about it, and he eventually told us that he didn't like how a lot of churches were threatening the continent of Africa... I was a little confused about that, but we had a good talk about why we need the restored priesthood authority to know God's will. At the end of the lesson, he asked us in English "Do you like Africa? Because if you like Africa, then I am your friend!" We laughed a bit and assured him we like Africa. Funny guy. He also expressed interest in visiting the church, which is a good sign.

We're very excited for the opportunity that seems to be abounding in the month of November! Next time I write, it'll be Halloween, for which I'll probably just get some candy bar or something. It's not really a thing here. Hope you all have a good one, though!

Abraço,

Elder Penner

Falling Slowly

I pull my inspiration from a musical called Once this week. I haven't actually seen it, to tell the truth, but my friend showed me this one song from it and I think it's a very touching song. I'm honestly surprised that I remember it. I feel that sometimes as a missionary things seem to go downhill gradually no matter how you try. In my interview with President Mathews last week, he shared with me that at the point where I'm at in the mission, a lot of missionaries feel like they've hit a plateau in their improvement. He explained that there are no such things as real plateaus, only ups or downs. So if you feel like you've plateaued, you really gotta make sure you're not falling slowly.

This last week was more of a refresher for me than anything else. The interview I had with President was a real rejuvinator, to be sure. Also, because I had been sick the week beforehand, my new companion Elder Ronces and I had the work of picking our area and our investigator pool back up to speed. Seeing as we found a lot of new families, I feel like we did just that! We found a total of 20 new investigators.

Sadly, Patrick was not baptized this past Saturday. He actually doesn't even want to talk to us anymore. On Monday evening he expressed concern that he wouldn't be able to keep the Law of Chastity with his girlfriend. We encouraged him that the Lord would help him to keep worthy, but he didn't seem to think that it was an option. He kept asking if he could go to church without being baptized. We told him yeah, but an important part of living the gospel is also living the commandments. After a couple of days we went to visit him again, and he didn't even want to sit down with us. He kept giving excuses like how he had been baptized in his parents' church, which really confused us because a couple of days ago he was super stoked about baptism. Since then, we've seen him once but he avoided us. I guess he just wasn't ready to accept the Lord's standards. I feel sad that he couldn't follow through, but that's what happened. We'll still try to keep in touch with him.

What is cool is that we could definitely have a marriage here the next month! A recently returned-to-activity member named Erineu has been working hard with the girl he lives with to accept the gospel, and for the past couple of weeks she's been coming to church! We finally got to talk to her this past week, and I'm astounded by how accepting she is of the message of the Restoration. Last time we talked, they said they'd either marry the end of November or the beginning of January. We just shared how we felt impressed to give Ronisse (the girl) a baptismal date of November 26th. It turns out they wanted to have the marriage on the 25th. Coincidence? I think not! We're super excited for them.

Really, really good week. I loved it. I even got to see my recent convert Laura yesterday, on the way to church. Sometimes the Lord shows his mercy in ways that we expect, though not often. I feel like I received that kind of mercy this week. Hope you all are well, have a good one!

Abraço,

Elder Penner

Feel Good, Inc

There are a few of reasons that I chose this to be the title of my update this week. First off, it's a message of hope, because after a week of really coming to undertstand the human digestive system from a different perspective, I can happily report that the nightmare is virtually over. I think I was at the worst at the beginning of last week, with only an upwards curve. They put me on some antibiotics at first (fun fact, believe it or not: not to be taken at the same time as probiotics. I may be dumb.) They helped. Now I'm practically back up to speed.

Second off, a little bit of sad news. A really good friend of mine passed a way this past week. I just learned about it today, so it's a little shocking to me. I'm sad that he's gone, but I know that he's not completely gone. I wasn't going to mention it, but I feel like I need to get it off my chest. I will miss Max. I hope that those that knew him are okay. I'll be praying for you all.

In much happier news, our investigator Yannick was baptized and confirmed this past weekend! It was such a great experience to see how happy he was. One thing I've come to love here on the mission is the change in peoples' countenances when they are converted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On Saturday night, we had a Family Night in his house, where we watched the Restoration video. It was a really spiritual experience, and he had a lot of friends there, too. I'm excited to see what's in store for him!

Patrick is also going along very well, and is headed for baptism on this upcoming Saturday! He came to Yannick's baptism in a white shirt and tie! He was a little bummed out when he saw that he should tuck in his shirt, though, haha. It's super cool to have one baptism after another here. I feel like the blessings of the Lord are here with us in Fernando Pó.

Well, that's most of what went on this week, other than the fact that I met a lot of good friends from when I was here over a year ago now. Hope you enjoy the pictures, most are the view from the coolest point in our entire area. Have a good one, all!

Abraço,

Elder Penner

The Funeral

"And every occasion, we'll be ready for the funeral" says the Band of Horses. The funeral for what, you may ask, the answer being the funeral of my digestive tract. So if this email doesn't seem very well written, just put yourself in my shoes: try to eat an entire brick and then write an essay. Maybe it's not that bad, but you get the picture.

Despite the pain that my insides have been giving me this past week, we managed to see some miracles happen and continue in the process of happening! First off we have the absolute stud Yannick, who passed his baptismal interview with flying colors. He is so ready to be baptized, it's almost unbelievable. I don't even feel like we really did anything at all. He always read the pamphlets before we talked about them, he's always had an Interstellar (starring Matthew McConaughey) reading record, and when we talked to him about the Law of Tithing, the only thing he had to say was "the Church is so cool!" I'm blessed to know him, that's for sure.

Another really cool thing that happened is on Saturday, at conference, we had a new investigator named Patrick show up with his really good member friend, Kevin. Kevin's an absolute boss, by the way. Patrick loves conference so much, he shows up 20 minutes early the next day for Priesthood session, just so he can see the Prophet of God. The best part of it all was that after it was over, we asked it how it was, and he said he loved it. He asked us how he could be baptized! We just told him, "we can definitely help you out with that!" It was so cool.

Other than that, we've been working with others to progress as well. I love this place, and I hope that whatever I have clears up soon so I can get back to working this area good! Hope all of you are well!

Abraço,

Elder Penner

Somewhere Only We Know

Sometimes I like to save certain songs for the right moment, and the more I think about it, the more that this song by Keane describes my reaction to a lot of things:

"Is this the place we used to love?

Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?"

I'm finding a lot of people and places that I used to know so well, and it seems to me that it was only a dream all that time ago. General Conference is coming next weekend, though, so I hope to be able to see a lot of people from Ala 5!

As for Fernando Pó, we're having an incredible experience here! This week was just filled with hard work, and one of the biggest successes that we've had is that we had 19 new investigators! How neat is that? Well, having found such a large amount of new people, now we're going to focus more on progressing our investigators (or really helping them to progress). The only problem that I have with all these new people is that we're completely out of Book of Mormons, lol. I'm not sure if we're going to have any more at anytime soon either. I guess somewhere in my switch out of the office, someone forgot to make the new order. Whoops.

It may have been my bad...

Anyways, Yannick is progressing really well! We've been teaching him the commandments this week, and it almost seems like he's already received these commandments at an earlier point in his life, because he's already following them! He's getting really excited about his baptism, too. The family is super cool as well. They're all recent converts, except for the mom, who goes to church every week, but won't get married to her marido. I guess she tried to get him legally removed at one point and he said that he would only leave that house in a coffin. We're going to talk with President about her situation again. Anyways, Yannick's 13 year old sister Lili is at almost the same place that I am in the Book of Mormon, so I challenged her to a race to the end. I'm winning still >:)

I went on a second division with President this week. Holy cow that man is inspiring. He just knows exactly what I need and how I need it. He focused a bit on how we invite people to know about our message. Due to the lack of Book of Mormons, we had just been inviting investigators to pray about the prophet Joseph Smith. President explained that the invitation to know the truth has to include a way for them to act. That's why it's about the Book of Mormon usually. For now I think we'll just put the focus on invites to chruch.

The week was great, the food is great, life is great! Have a good one!

Abraço,

Elder Penner