Jumpscares and Miracles
Hey friends! If I have counted properly (which of course I have… at least I think) this week is week 50 of my mission. Exactly one year from now I will be headed to the airport to fly home… not that anyone is counting or anything. This week was the most uneventful, exhausting week ever. I know that doesn't make sense but I just died this week. Absolutely cooked but I am happy so that's what matters.
Jumpscares
Picture this. It's a nice Wednesday morning, all the problems in the world have been solved. You're at your desk, relaxed, nothing is pressing. Then the phone rings and its Church Headquarters in Brazil calls. Welp so much for a nice Wednesday. You get talking and find out that you've been breaching financial protocols that you didn't even know existed and now you have to do a report on why. Well that was my life on Wednesday! The good news is that no one ever responded to my report so I think we are in the clear. I may or may not have had a heart attack when it happened but we are chill now. Just another random adventure to my secretary duties.
On Thursday there was a conference that my comp had to go to so we went and I saw President there. He came up and hugged me and said “Aw my financial secretary,” and we started laughing. We had some business to handle and at the end he said “just make sure we don't do anything else illegal.” You got it, President. Everything was chill but that night he finished up some interviews and came out and went “General office meeting tomorrow, 10am.” Welp so much for everything being all good. We all looked at each other and we're like “what did we do?” Fast forward to the next morning and we pull up to our meeting. What was it about? Next transfer. Next transfer planning started on week one of this transfer. We are getting 22 Americans, 14 coming from Utah. We need to open 7 areas and 5 new houses. The next four weeks will be wildly busy getting everything ready. That's what I love about my assignment. We do everything that no one sees that makes everything run smoothly. All the behind the scenes. It's so interesting. By the end of the year we will have received almost 60 new missionaries and opened around 15 areas, 10 houses, and a whole lot more. Insanity.
Miracles
With all this behind the scenes work we had some miracles this week! On Friday we had a family night at our senior couple’s house. Unfortunately the people we invited never showed up but our two recent converts showed up and brought their parents that aren’t members! It was a nice little surprise and they really enjoyed themselves. On Saturday we got to work in our area a good bit! In the morning I got caught up on a bunch of old messages that no one ever responded to and got some response! Then we had lunch with an inactive member who ended up coming to Church the next day! As we were working in our area we didn’t have anything too crazy happen but we took a quick little stop in a pharmacy to get my comp something and that’s where the miracle happened. Someone that had been taught by the missionaries in the past happened to be there as well! We said hi and invited him to come to church and he came! It was awesome. We also had some great contacts and mini-lessons with our recent converts!
On Sunday some of the members brought some friends which was also a miracle. One of the people that came was someone that we had helped just a few weeks earlier in a service project. We were able to teach and invite all three of our friends to baptism. One accepted and we hope to be able to help him reach his goal of serving the Lord. We all felt the spirit so strong and I am grateful for the miracles we saw in our work.
The Other Stuff
I have 64 ties
I made some nice snack sacks for the Mission Leadership Council.
We had a lit lunch with a young couple and she made excellent brownies. The first time I had brownies since who knows when.
Quotes
“Cansei dessa vida” [Elder Garbin and I at the same time, 7/31/2026]
God's Hand
All this weeks miracles
Bear hug from President
Brownies!!
Spiritual Thought
I love the story of Alma returning to the city of Ammonihah, as the Lord commanded, to teach the people after being cast out. He went back and was received by Amulek who said “I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my food;” (Alma 8:20)
This made me think about the famous scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 “...he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” Alma returned, with faith in the Lord that it would all work out, and it did. God will not ask us to do an impossible task. Not only is it always possible but he has also put help in our path to guide us through what he has asked.
Okay I know it was just a short one this week. I am sorry. I didn’t have any grand side quests to write about. Maybe next week… maybe. I love you all! Please write me! I need some entertainment until the next side quest.
Muito amor,
Elder Urbano
