Power From On High
Hey friends! Goodness gracious this week was crazy but so good. Tuesday we traveled to hear an Apostle speak, Wednesday was transfers and my comp left me, Thursday I traveled back to the city to get my son (the missionary I am training), Friday we got him settled in and started to work, Saturday we rounded everyone up for Church, and, last but not least, Sunday came and my son had to speak in Church. All that brings us to another p-day and another debrief. If you want to know how I got 7 people, 14 pieces of luggage, 3 non-portuguese speakers, 5 non-english speakers, and myself through the metro of São Paulo (in the rain too) you better keep reading.
A Visit From an Apostle
This week we had the opportunity to hear from one of the Apostles, Elder Rasband. We made the 3 hour trip to the city and met up with the whole mission and another mission to attend the devotional. Around 500 missionaries.
First off, what is an Apostle? In simple terms it is someone called to be a special witness of Christ. Think of biblical times, Christ ordained his 12 disciples to go forth and preach the gospel or in other words, his Apostles. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that the Church is organized the same way. The Church today is led by the First Presidency, consisting of the Prophet and 2 counselors, alongside the Quorum of the Twelve of Apostles. Together they oversee world wide ministry of the Church. For more information see “Apostle” in the Bible Dictionary and “Apostle” in Topics and Questions.
The devotional with Elder Rasband was extremely good and very Spiritual. There were two main focuses that stuck out to me; Know the Lord, our Savior and follow Spiritual promptings. Elder Rasband and his wife taught about how every question we have can be answered by Christ. Our relationship with Him is built on knowing and understanding Him and His work. As we prayerfully study the gospel and scriptures the more we will love Him, the more we love Him the greater desire we will have to serve Him, strengthening our relationship with him. Elder Rasband also spoke about revelation and promptings. He taught that 99% of the time we follow the first whispers of the Spirit we will be right and it is through following these promptings that we will understand how the Lord speaks to us. It is often through promptings that we receive revelation.
Throughout the devotional I was able to feel the confirming power of the Spirit. I know that the Lord loves each and every one of us and He wants us to know him. Being in the same room with one of His Apostles was a very special experience and one that I will never forget.
Thursday
Why Thursday? Because it is impossible to recap the day in a title other than just saying the day. Let's get into it.
I woke up bright and early (actually it was still dark so just early) at 3:30am to get ready to make the trip to the city for the second time that week. Just this time to get my son. At 4:30am I left the house by myself and got in my Uber. It was so weird to just walk out, alone, without anyone knowing. I made it to the bus station and had to print bus tickets for some sisters that were running late, then made my 2 hour trip to the city. Once in the city, the sisters got an Uber to the office so I left them and took the metro. I walked through the station by myself which was super weird again but met up with some other Elders. We all met up at the office and chatted with the other trainers.
The APs gave a training that I highkey don't remember, then we waited an hour for the President to show up just for him to tell us to go eat something haha. After eating we had another training and got our kids! No one was hype so I made sure to be extra hype when I got my son and I think President was scared I was gonna hurt him haha. After our companions were assigned we had two more trainings and then lunch. Lunch was so good, chicken stroganoff! After lunch it was time to finish up some house keeping things and make our way back to our area. Chill, easy enough. At least you would think, this is where the story gets interesting.
For a little bit I chatted with some missionaries waiting for my travel plans but they never came. I kept chatting and started to wonder if we were ever going to leave. I remembered I had some stuff to get done so I made my way downstairs to talk to the secretaries. I asked the APs what the plans were and they said just wait… okay I can do that. I was helping some of the new Americans figure out some things and translate for them when my District Leader came up to me and told me that we were leaving. I told him the APs told me something different but he insisted on leaving, that didn't sit right with me. I asked the APs again and was told to wait so I told my DL to go without me. He still insisted I went with but I didn't.
After some hecticness I decided that we had been forgotten about. I told the AP to get us bus tickets and we would make our way to the bus station. This is where I realized why it was important I decided to stay. We had to get 3 duplas of sisters and their suitcases to the bus station through the metro. On top of that they did not speak the same language as their comps nor did they know how to navigate downtown São Paulo. I rounded them all up and told them the game plan. The AP told us our bus was in 50 minutes… at a station 40 minutes away. I prayed for us all and it became a race against time. Lugging suitcases, translating, navigating the metro at peak hour (when you have to physically get pushed onto the train), that is what the next hour of my life was. Oh and I forgot to mention it was raining and I was in a rain drenched suit. By a miracle we got to the bus station but we were missing a ticket. I called the APs right when another miracle happened; President's wife came around the corner. I explained to her the situation and translated for the Americans what was going to happen and left them in the care of President's wife. I got on the bus and, for the first time in what felt like years, I got to breathe.
Stressful? A little. An adventure? Of course. A moment I will never forget? Yes. Was I in constant prayer? Duh. Was I only able to do it with the power of God on my side? I don't have a doubt about it. Did I love every second of it? For sure.
Training
Yo no one warned me how weird it is to go from junior comp to trainer over night. I have zero clue what I am doing. I just pray it doesn't look that way to my son haha. I am also praying that he isn't struggling too much because this kid is so hard to read. He could be dying and I wouldn't have the slightest clue. In terms of being a trainer I have discovered that it's fake it until you make it… for me at least. Hopefully he turns out to be a good missionary. Training has made me realize I know a whole lot more than I thought I did though. That's been cool.
Random
I led an army of 40 missionaries in the street
Ran into all the missionaries in the world at the mall
Saw my President nervous for the first time
Got to see the whole mission in one spot at once… so cool
President gave me a hug and picked me up it was very funny
Tried to vlog a day but forgot I was vlogging by hour three
Accidently stole one of the novinhos umbrellas… don’t worry I gave it back
Got a package with all sorts of goodies from my mom
Played dress up in the zone phone call
Elders verses member in pool
One of the members told me I gave a good talk last Sunday and I realized it had only been a week even though it felt like a month past
Went to change out of my suit on Sunday and accidently fell asleep… I was cooked
Accidentally walked down party lane on Sunday night
Quotes
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life” [Elder Rasband, 3/17/2026]
God's Hand
Seeing some missionaries for possibly the last time before the split
I got to have a heart to heart with Elder Bingham again
Lot's of laughs and stories on the bus
Safe travels alone
Being able to get me and others through the metro
The Gift of Tongues and being able to translate
Feeling the angels surrounding me
With the little time we had to work this week we were still able to find some new people and have people at Church
Still having energy at the end of it all.
Spiritual Thought
Although crazy, this week was probably the week I most felt the power of God on my side. From the spirit testifying of the things Elder Rasband said to the prompting of not leaving the office when others were. God was very present in my life this week. On top of that I felt endowed with His power and guided by the spirit as we made our way through the metro in the rain and were faced with challenges. I know Christ was with me. I know angels were at my side this week. I know he prepares the way for us and will help us in the big things as well as the small things and I am thankful for that in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
You survived this week's email and by the grace of God I survived this week. Even though it was one of the craziest, stressful, strange, and longest weeks it was one of the most fun weeks of my mission with so many things learned. I hope you all enjoyed my stories and would love to hear from you! If you haven't got a response from me it's probably because I cannot find your email again so please send me another and I will get back to you. I miss you all and can't wait to talk to you again! Until next week!
Todo o meu amor,
Elder Urbano
