Buchada!!!

I'm always looking for what adventures I can have, so when a less active member told us that she would make Buchada for us to try, I was all over that idea!!  For those who don't know, Buchada is all of the delicious inside parts of a goat (intestines, heart, blood, and other goodness), cooked inside the stomach of the goat!  The Elders and Sister Blanco weren't too excited to try it, but they were kind enough to not rain on my parade (heehee).  The Buchada didn't look all that strange, so I took a big spoonful (because I wanted to get the full effect and not just a baby bite of intestines) and started chewing...to be quite honest, it tasted like, well, like meat!  It wasn't disgusting and I didn't have instant gag reflex!  I was able to finish eating everything and if I was offered Buchada again, I'd probably eat it!  Adventure Buchada - check!

During another lunch with a member, we had the wonderful opportunity to hear an amazing story.  This member had found a pass along card in a box that she had received for Natal.  It was a simple pass along card with a picture of Jesus on the front.  However, the card had such a powerful effect on her that she traveled to São Paulo two times to try and find The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She never called the number on the card because she wanted to find the church itself.  Needless to say, she never found the church, but she kept the pass along card.  Ten years later, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constructed a chapel directly in front of her house!  This member had been praying for a church to be built near her home because she wanted to have a church to go to.  She attended the open house for the chapel, and was baptized two weeks later...still not realizing that this church was the same exact church as the pass along card that she had.  Now, one year after her baptism, she received another pass along card at a FHE activity, the same exact pass along card that she had received 10 years ago!  When she saw the same picture on the front, she went to her Bible and pulled out the 10-year-old pass along card, faded with time, and almost falling apart.  The two cards were identical!  She had at last found the church that she had been searching for all these years!!!  So COOL!!!  After hearing that story, I starting passing out pamphlets to every person we talked to on the street!  haha!  Who knows, talvez in 15-20 years the pamphlet I gave to someone will help bring them or another person into the Gospel!  No effort to share the Gospel will be wasted!! 

This past week we had interviews with President Hall.  As I talked with him, he told me, "I know at times you get frustrated with the work.  You may think you're all alone out there in Guarabira not accomplishing anything, but your efforts to be an obedient and righteous missionary are blessing the other missionaries in this mission.  Because of your diligence and faith, this mission, and all the other missions in the world are blessed!"  As I thought about his advice, I realized that this is something we all need to consider.  Sometimes we may think, "I'm the only one in........that wants to follow the Savior; do my efforts to be righteous really matter?"  The answer is easy, 'YES'!!!  Every effort to follow the Savior adds more light to this world and more strength to our fellow brothers and sisters to choose the right as well.  This Gospel is true!  The scriptures really, truly give us strength and power to make it through are challenges and difficulties.  The Atonement is real!  And most important, we have loving Heavenly Father who will never...NEVER abandon us!!