Week 22: By Small and Simple Things

Oi rapazão! Só auro?

And happy new year! I hope everyone is ready for this new year, and I hope I am! While discussing plans for the new year, someone said that they hope that 2026 will be far better than 2025, then added that it won't be for me -- that 2026 will be worse -- because I'll be serving for all of this next year... But I don't believe that, because of a talk that I'll mention later!

This week, our two friends, Vanessa and Carmundo, had very different times.

Vanessa was mugged while alone in Brasília, and when she eventually made it back home, her almost-husband didn't believe that she was actually robbed and he left. So now, we're just trying to help her find peace as the world continues to throw challenges at her.

At the same time, Carmundo was baptized this Sunday! He really was only found because of inspiration from the Spirit. Two times in our system he was marked as "not interested" and only because we felt impressed to give him another visit two separate times was he eventually able to make this decision. He described feeling a lot more peace later in the day of his baptism.

Elected -- For Christmas last week, a lot of people were out of town. This week, for new years, even more people were out of town, and many, many more were drunk then hungover on the 31st and the 1st. Then, a massive burst of rain created rivers that left a layer of dirt on the street and sidewalks, making the city appear genuinely abandoned.

But, as our district leader pointed out to us this week, that just leaves the only people willing to meet with us those that aren't drinkers and partiers, and that's what happened! Most notably, we met Jailson, a man looking for Christ's church. When we described to him the restoration and Joseph Smith's experience not knowing which church was true, he said he related to it perfectly. Then, we met a young woman incredibly excited to come to church, who made sure she had the address, location, and a picture of the church to find it on Sunday without data on her phone. (Yet the curse of this area still persists and she never made it there on Sunday, presumably because she couldn't find it :()

Favorite Hymn -- One morning, I had a moment of doubt. We are two 20-year-olds, who everyone thinks are 15-year-old brothers, walking through a small city in Brazil. We have the responsibility to bring others unto Christ, wherever they are -- young or old, educated or not, walking in the street or already seeking our message -- and support the branch we are serving in and its members, all in a language that was Greek to me even four months ago. I can't do that, and why did the Lord pick us anyway? Why not those older and wiser with more life experience and knowledge of Christ's teachings? 

But now, I think back to the lessons I taught this week.

With Jailson, we taught of Joseph Smith, who was only 14 when he saw God and Jesus Christ, and who continued to be an uneducated, imperfect man, called as a prophet of God. 

And with Vanessa, while attempting to think of what I could say or do to help her now, I was reminded of the story of Nephi, when he was commanded by the Lord to get the metal plates of scripture from the wicked king Laban, something seemingly impossible for him, but that he knew he could. I read for her 1 Nephi 3:7 while singing in my head the children's hymn, Nephi's Courage, at the same time:

I told her that while it may seem impossible to quit drinking and smoking and come to God again, God wants it for her, and God always provides a way to follow His will. Then for more comfort, I was reminded of Russell M. Nelson's talk from October of 2016 and the powerful line, "the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." I searched up this talk for her and suggested that she watch it. 

So, back to my two main doubts: how will 2026 be better than last year? And, why have I been called to this work? The answer to both of them, as always, is Christ. As a missionary, I am focused on Christ more than ever before, and as I have been, I have found joy. I've found it in familiar places, in music and friendship, and in places new to me, like the scriptures and in completing difficult work. Then, about me and all of the other missionaries, sunday school teachers, bishops, and even a prophet that outside of their calling are just normal old (or young) people and who may not seem like enough. I was reminded of Alma 37:6-7:

I am one of those small and simple things just hoping to be worked with and changed in the Lord's hand.

That's it for this week!

Till next time,

Elder Haroldsen

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