Wow, what a week!  Last Saturday, Elder G* and I decided we wanted to do a day of service and try to open the hearts of the people.  We threw on our work clothes and went to houses of people that we know.  We ended up at F*’s house and said, “We are here to do service.”  At first, she was hesitant and was too shy to ask for help.  I then asked V*, her 11 year old son, who is preparing for baptism, what we could do.  He took us back to a room that was filled bottom to top with just stuff--dust everywhere!  We spent the next four hours completely emptying it, cleaning, and organizing!  Wow, so much fun!  I love manual labor!  V* and I found a long metal pipe and I asked him if he had ever heard of baseball.  He hadn’t.  This family lives out in the boonies on a dirt road with just cows, dogs, and horses around.  I picked up a few good sized rocks and blasted them out towards the empty pond.  V* was mesmerized. He said "Wow! Can you show me how to do that?"  He picked up the metal pipe and I taught him soft-toss.  He struggled for about 30 minutes and then, what do you know!  He is the next Babe Ruth!  He was blasting shots out into the "campo.”  You should have seen his face!  This experience reminded me how much I love being a missionary!

We also had another great experience last week.  We made contact with a lady who owns a small lanchonete and sells fried food called salgados.  They are delicious.  Even though neither she nor her husband are interested in a new religion, they admire what we are doing.  She told me, "Young man, your mother is in a far-off land.  If it were my son, I would want him to have a Mormon Mom!  Therefore, here, I am your Catholic Mom!  Eat up!"  We got stuffed!  Now, every day we walk past her lanchonete and she gives us juice and food!  They are pure Christians.  The sincerity of their hearts is marvelous.

By the way, be very grateful for what you have!  The water here in Canindé has been completely exhausted.  We can no longer wash clothes or shower but, you know what, I love it!  It is going to be a great story 10 years down the road.  We all stink and have to shower with the equivalent of a liter of water out of a bucket.  It is awesome!  It reminds me of scout camp!

I invite you all to join my goal: enjoy all the small things!  Because when we do, it is impossible to be unhappy!

Tuesday we had an opportunity to go do service for R* (she was baptized this week.)  

We moved tile for her in 100 degree weather for about four hours.  

I loved it!  It reminded me of working in the cemetery. I miss manual labor sometimes.  We saw all sorts of animal life: scorpions, snakes, spiders, and cockroaches ...under every tile was a new creature.  It was one of my favorite memories of the week.

Saturday we were able to attend the baptisms of R* and B* (B* is a 17 year old boy who is awesome.) They are both investigators of Elder A* and Elder T*.  This past week, Brazil has been gearing up for Carnival and this made the baptisms quite interesting.  Every week, we have to switch locations of where we baptize because people are busy, and at the last minute we found this party place that had a pool.  They were setting up for Carnival, blasting music, setting up alcohol, and providing for much that is morally wrong.  But, they had a pool in the back which they were willing to let us use.  So, we had a group of 20 people in white shirts and ties singing, The Spirit of God, while Rihanna was blasting in the background.  Let’s just say it was quite the experience.

"E mais batismo em Canindé!"

10 February 2014

Okay, this past week was amazing!

On Friday night we went to I**’s home and met with her mom, F*.  She has been reading the Book of Mormon and told us that she wants to study with us.  When we arrived she said that she wants to study with us but does not want any invitations and commitments--only to study.  We went on to describe that as missionaries we will always invite (that is our job) but that we will be considerate of her desires.  We then had a marvelous lesson on the Book of Mormon.

The next day we returned to talk about 2 Nephi 31 with her.  We then had an amazing lesson on the importance of baptism.  She had many questions--especially, regarding the concept of people who die before having an opportunity to accept the gospel.  She came to church on Sunday with I** and another daughter.  I** spoke in sacrament meeting and did a fantastic job talking about faith.  F* absolutely loved church and described it as "bem diferente" (very different) and it just "felt right."   She is going to be baptized on February 22.  This is so humbling for me.  It truly is not us that teach but the Spirit.  It is all in the Lord's hands.

This has been a good week.

Love,

Elder Larkin

3 February 2014

Wow!  I can't believe I am 20!  Another year in the books!   Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, and birthday wishes.  This past week has been very humbling and very insightful.  

I finally received one of the packages that you sent in December.  Hopefully, the others will follow. Thank you so much!  It is funny…where we go for district meeting (where I get my packages) is the most dangerous part of Fortaleza.  I was about to walk out the chapel with my package when all the other Elders freaked out and told me to wait there.  They ran to the back room and grabbed an empty, brown cardboard box.  They told me that I needed to put my United States Postal Box inside or else I would be robbed immediately. This was quite the experience because we had to walk about thirty minutes in this part of Ceará to get to a lunch appointment before returning to Canindé.

My heart is so full--the Lord truly prepares His people to receive the Restored Gospel. Today, I**, our investigator who was baptized last week, taught Principles of the Gospel in church.  We have been helping her prepare throughout the week.  She taught as if she had been a member for decades.  In my opinion, she will be one of the most firm members in all the world.  I know without a doubt that He prepares His elect.  

Another miracle happened yesterday.  Elder G and I were returning from the outskirts of the city on a dirt road when a woman on a moto-taxi stopped us.  She said she was a member of twenty years but moved to Canindé five years ago and could no longer attend because the Church wasn't here.  She was so excited to see us--she lives a long ways out of town.  She came to church today and brought her two daughters, who aren't members. She bore her testimony of how true the Restored Gospel is and how she had yearned and prayed to be able to have it again in her life.  Well, her prayer was answered (she was crying in her testimony because Heavenly Father knows her)--she even mentioned that during the past five years she has gone to other churches to try to fill a hole in her heart but they could never do it for her. This morning she said she was finally at peace.  How humbled I am to be a part of the answer to her prayers.

Thank you for all your words of encouragement.  I am beginning to realize that my mission isn't to learn Portuguese or even baptize...it is to become the person Heavenly Father wants me to become and help those around me.

Love,

Dave (Elder Larkin)

Happy Birthday, Elder Larkin!

Here are some recent photos from Caninde, Fortaleza.

20 January 2014

We had our first two baptisms in Canindé this week!  I* and I** are wonderful women and the first two members of the Church here.  What a miracle!

I* is the investigator of Elder A and Elder T.  I interview their investigators for baptism and Elder A interviews ours.  So, this past Friday, I had the opportunity to do my first baptismal interview.  I was scared to death because of the language, and prayed and prayed that it would go smoothly.  What a blessing!  We were able to understand each other and she recounted to me a beautiful conversion story, with the biggest, brightest smile I have ever seen.  Then, she honored me by asking if I would perform the baptism.  This was such a humbling experience for which I am so grateful (although I must have repeated the prayer and her name about a thousand times the night before to make sure Iwouldn’t mess up the Portuguese.)

I** is the investigator that Elder G and I have been teaching.  Wow, what an example of courage, strength and power…her conversion is a testimony to me that it is the Spirit that teaches, not us.  When Saturday arrived, it actually rained (does not happen often).  As the baptism approached, the clouds cleared and a beautiful, quenching vista of the water-deprived Canindé came into view…it was so amazing.  We had contacted the richest person in Canindé (and the only swimming pool owner), who agreed to let us use his pool as a font.  Moments before the baptism, I** and her mom were in deep conversation with Elder A and Brother W, and I** was crying.  Evidently, I**’s mother had just received a phone call from their pastor who said that if I** was baptized, he would excommunicate their entire family.  I** did not want to hurt her family and her mom, who is not friendly to our church, did not want to hurt her daughter.  Finally, her mom gave her blessing, and I** was baptized.  I** is a beacon of courage who I will always remember.

The spoken language remains very, very difficult for me.  I am understanding gospel-related words and phrases, but I’m lost when it comes to normal, everyday speaking.  Please keep me in your prayers.

13 January 2014

This past week has been fantastic and Elder G and I have had some great experiences.  We’re taking the language one step at a time…it is SO hard to understand the people here because they don’t speak Portuguese…they speakCearean (Portuguese slang.)  Half the words they use are not even in the dictionary.  And, most people are pretty set in their ways and have no desire to learn new truths or change.  How grateful I am to know that we have the ability to progress because of Christ, if we simply follow Him.  My hope and prayer is that the people here can open their hearts to the truth.

There is hope!  Our investigator is getting baptized!  She came to Family Home Evening last Monday and asked how soon she could be baptized.  We were shocked because we were not even sure she had understood our lessons (because our Portuguese is so bad!)  She explained that her answer had come over the past few days in many different ways and, when she comes to church, it “just  feels right.”  She will be going against her family’s wishes and her Pastor, but she is a strong, young woman and is experiencing a great conversion.  I have learned a good lesson…the gift of tongues is not the ability to speak, but the ability to be understood as the Spirit teaches.

Please keep sending your letters…I cherish each one and look so forward to Wednesdays when I can travel to Fortaleza to get them.  (We’ve figured that it takes at least 3 weeks for a letter to reach Fortaleza from the States.)