The Elders Five

Boston Harbor -- Marathon Day

April 28, 2014

That is the name by which our fans know the singing elders of the Brockton Branch. We are currently working on booking our post-mission tour and also take requests.

 

So Carvalho, Vargas, Lopes, Jackson and Miller (with Sister Miller tickling the ivories) have become the singing sensation and have so far sung in sacrament meeting and a baptism, which basically makes us professionals and entitles us to red carpets and open doors everywhere in Brockton. Just kidding. Actually not completely because literally everyone will invite us in to hear the word of God... AHH A IGREJA DE ELDERS FALA FALA! Commitments are hard but at least 80% of Brockton probably has a Book of Mormon somewhere in their house now!

 

This week was a little crazy--- we had interviews and then Elder Lopes got sick, so we stayed inside for two days, after which we had one day together and another day on exhanges with the zone leaders in Franklin, then a raiiiiny day and then Sunday. Some weeks fly, others drag. This one did both.

Socorro and her family... man they are the coolest of all. Their baptism is scheduled for next Sunday and none of the problems other people have last minute are coming up. She taught us about how to help your kids keep the law of chastity by keeping all the doors in the house open all the time, aka, she's got in on lock. We've got the interview to set up this week and then we shall be opening the door of baptism. And everything gets better from there.

 

William is um rapaz 13 year old that has a mind like a steel trap-- he came to church the first time after we taught him and after class the young mens president came up to us and said... I want to come to your next lesson with him

golden

and another kid predicted to me that william will be the deacon's quorum president when he ages up. he's not even a member yet. SO COOL.

 

Oh yeah, one of our zone leaders is my twin from the other side of the country. we bonded over disc and a mutual love for gardening, which he believes is not effeminate but rather incredibly masculine and awesome, to which I readily agree

 

-The half sister of a recent convert named Jessay, who is like 11 I think, wants to get baptized and thinks it is the coolest thing ever that there is a living prophet on the earth today. Only problem is her dad is totally not okay with it, even after our fast for her. God's got a plan for how he wants that situation to work out and we're working on seeing what He wants us to do.

 

-Some cops told us that we shouldn't be out walking the streets of Brockton at night because "the kids will pull a pistol on ya like that" and "one of your people got caught in a shootout and ended up a witness to a homicide".

we said thanks for the advice and laughed a little

I think that witness might have been elder lopes but not positive

 

I experienced someone pull out on the morning of their baptism. one of the hardest 20 minutes ever for me. The Lord doesn't, wont force people to make promises to him. Tis a difficult thing.

 

The Brenton Jackson episode of House continues with the internal medicine department at Mass General! Symptoms remain the same-- generally described as "I feel like I drank a bottle of nyquil", repeated every morning. Incredibly I'm actually getting better at Portuguese and learning a little bit of Creole, and coming to love this place. 

 

Second to lastly, the predictions are that this transfer Lopes will leave and I will become a trainer. I can't tell if they're just messing with me or actually predicting my demise but its in the Lord's hands!!!!

 

Lastly, I know that the Holy Ghost is real and more subtle and more powerful than anything else on this earth, and that it has the power to change even those who seem irretrievably lost. 

 

NOT THAT ANY OF YOU ARE IRRETRIEVABLY LOST. YA'LL GOLDEN MKAY

 

Love,

Elder Jackson 

April showers brings May flowers so what do Mayflowers bring...

The Brasileiros and Cape Cod elders on the bridge to Boston