Uma semana normal

Jonny started to use a LOT more  Portuguese...so I've added google translation in parentheses after his Portuguese:) 

So today I just wanted to just on a simple truth about the mission. Sometimes, nao (no) scratch that, all the time missionary work is just that.... a lot of work. It isn't easy.  I wouldn't say, Wow this is the funnest thing that I have ever done!, but I will say that missionary work has been the most rewarding thing that I have done in my life. That feeling of waking up everyday knowing that you are fulfilling completamente a vontade do senhor (completely the will of the Lord). It is just something incredible. This week was one of the harder weeks. We got canceled on a ton, we had a lot of investigators who missed the church and so we are going to have to adiar os batismos (postpone baptisms). But in the middle of all of this we were able to baptize A really cool jovem se chama (young man called) Danny. He is really good friends with a lot of the people that we baptized recently and the highlight of the week veio (came) after he was baptized and the people baptised were invited to come to the front and bear testimony( we did our baptisms this week with a lot of other missionaries) And there was that awkward silence and then he got up, danny, who actually is super timid and shy and just gave a powerful testimony about the power of the holy spirit in our lives. Quero tetificar que esta Igraja e verdadeira. Tenho certeza sobre isso. Eu fiz uma oracao e recebi minha resposta, e eu sei que qualquer pessoa que nao tenha recebido uma resposta por si mesma pode receber uma testemunha.(I want to make sure that this is true. I'm sure about that. I made a prayer and received my answer, and I know that anyone who has not received an answer on their own can receive a witness.)
 Ate mais meos amigos! (Until more friends!)

Jonny did not send pictures again this time, not sure why.  But last week our son, Matt, sent a  picture of Elder Draney (who is in his ward) that is also serving in Mozambique and is in the same zone as Jonny and Jonny is also in the picture....so I will send that:)

Blessings

So just wanted to start out by telling yall a story from yesterday. I received my first blessing while being here in Mozambique last night and boy was it..... interesting..... hahaha so we were sitting on their form of public transportation called a chapa and elder Flitton and I were smashed together and we had two extremely drunk ladies sitting in front of us and behind us and the whole hour that we were together they were talking about how the holy pastors (apparently us) needed to dispel all the demons that we there in the chapa. Anyways, we just sat there ignoring it and towards the end of our extremely valuable time together the woman in front of us put her hands on our foreheads and looked up to the sky and started screeching and making the weirdest noises..... hahaha it was super interesting and lets just say I did not feel the spirit one bit so its safe to say that I still 100% believe in the Priesthood power that exists in this Church.

 Anyways this week went super well. We were able to baptize Irmao Luiz and Irma Fatima and the baptisms were super cool. Luiz has 20 years and Fatima has 14. The both of them have been growing so much and it is so crazy to see how the Gospel has power to CHANGE. Come as you are but don't expect to stay that way, really is the message of the gospel. Anyone who has a real desire to feel the changing power of the Atonement is not only welcome but begged to come and experience the change of an eternity. I love this gospel with all my heart. It is interesting how every week I seem to find myself thinking the exact same thing....."Wow this gospel really does make sense" It really does and I testify that the people in Africa are feeling the same thing.

We have an investigator that was talking to us about churches and how she knows our church is true, she said, I went to a bunch of other churches and every time I went I never felt settled, the pastors would yell, teach, and dance and everything they said and taught would get confused in my mind, but when I came to your church, I felt a peace, I felt like I was at home and the things that were taught didn't just pass through my ears but found a place in my heart.

The Gospel is real, more than just real but in all truthfulness the Gospel is reality, At times we forget the importance of the things we believe. Work, school, activities are all good and important things but in the end the simple truths of the gospel will be the things by which we are judged in the end of this life.

Love you all and I hope everyone finds time to stuff their faces with turkey because we definitely won't be! ;)

-Love Elder Thornton

Gostaria de enviar algumas fotos mas a computador nao esta funcionando. Vou esperar ate a semana que vem  (I would like to send some photos but the computer is not working. I'll wait until next week.)

Batizador

Woah me and Elder Flitton have received a lot of opportunities to baptize our investigators and every time is just a special as the last. This week we were able to baptize the little sister of Irmao Geramias and that was super cool. Her name is Laurinda and she is probably the most spirited little girl I have met out here haha we love her a ton.

I also had the honor of baptizing a guy named Carlitos who has 17 years of age. His testimony is so strong and I remember the first time we taught him he looked at us and said... I dont know if I believe this but I know I will find out tonight! wow and did he find out, the next lesson he told us a story about how he prayed and he felt an indescribable feeling touch his heart and after that he knew. After that lesson we watched the Joseph smith restoration movie and he bore his testimony to his other brother and friend that "even though this story is hard to believe, that God and Christ would appear to a boy who only has 14 years, I know that it is true because I prayed and I received a witness."

Wow. It really is amazing to be a witness of the truthfulness of Gods promises. Pray with real intent and you will receive. I just want to bear my witness that this promise is real. The people of Mozambique are finding that out for themselves and I know that we all can too. The reality though is that we all need to be able to respond with that same answer that this young guy gave, Yeah it is hard to believe but only if you havent prayed about it. Satan is always trying to get us to stop praying to know, at times the culture of the church thinks.... woah yeah i already received my answer that these things are true, but the reality is that each of us can come to know the truths of the gospel in a way much deeper and much more fulfilling if we will continue to ask God for further light and knowledge.

This week we should be having 2 or 3 more baptisms so next week i will have to tell you a little bit more about them too;) haha this week it rained..... and rained.... and then it poured. hahaha but no problem we are super prepared with our heavy duty rain boots... with holes in them.... hmmmm slightly ineffective but whatever haha. I love the mission, It is crazy that 4 months have already flown by.

 Love you all back on the other side of the world.

 -Elder Thornton

Irmao Carlitos, Laurinda (little sister or Irmao Geramias), Elder Flitton and Jonny

Jonny with Irmao Carlitos

Zone Conference....yeah, I am forgetting English and I can't spell

So really we had zone conference this week which was super awesome! We got two zones together and It was super incredible.... not only that... only the best free food of all time so that was pretty much the best also.

SO anyways this week flew by and I dont exactly remember everything that happened nor do I have the tinme to relate it all back but just to start... our mission is having crazy success and it really is just so incredible. Last month we had 200 baptisms in the mission this last week me and ELder FLitton baptized 3 people. Irmao puxu, Irmao Daneal, and Irmao Johanes. Super amazing success.

Irmao Puxu was a reference from a Memeber in our group, actually her little brother and she had already taught him all the lessons and he wanted to get baptised? So we just had to reteach everything one time and then we baptized him.... so crazy how willing the people are to accept the gospel, then Irmao Daneal was also a reference from Irmao Geramias who we baptized two weeks ago, man references really make all the difference out her on the mission, nothing is more effective than having a really close friend or family member bearing testimony of the things that you are teaching.... Then Irmao Johanes.... I dont know if anyone will remember but we tried to have him baptized two weeks in a row but he had tests during the baptism two times.... so that was tough but he finally showed up this week and the baptism was super awesome.. The only problem that we had was that we had two other jovens that were planned for this last saturday but they didnt show up for the baptism.... then they showed up for the sacrament meeting and got up to "bear his testimony" and he pretty much walked up to the front and said.... well the missionaries planned a baptism for me yesterday but I didnt show up because I didnt feel ready to be baptized I still have sins that i want to commit....... woowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....... hahaha boy do we need to sit down with him and talk, It really is to bad some times because the people here will lie to you face and give you the answers you want to hear instead of the truth so a lot of times we really have to check and make sure someone wants to be baptized or not.

Super interesting work out here in good ol dondo but the work is running and I have a testimony that the church really is led by a living prophet who receives specific and directed advice for every facet of the church. I love the gospel and the book of mormon. I had a close friend email me and talk to me about the power of the book of Mormon and I really just want to testify that as we read and ponder about the things contained we all can receive real and personal revelation that the book is true. Love yall

Maningue News - 9th transfer

Dear parents of the powerful missionaries of the Mission Maputo Mozambique,

Follow our November newsletter with the results of OCTOBER 2017 (INGLÊS). We had a wonderful and inspiring trasnferencia. Your children baptized in this transfer: 199 new converts in OCTOBER.

We created the NAMPULA district and many miracles will turn !!

Thank you for your support and for encouraging and loving them !!

Today some missionaries will be traveling by transfer, some parents may not receive an email from them, do not worry they will write soon in the next p-day.

Love you!!

Presidente Senna & Sister Senna

Missão Moçambique Maputo

Missão Moçambique Maputo,
o Melhor  Lugar Para Estarmos Hoje!!!