“Songs of Hope”
Hey friends! Holy this week flew by, what a blessing. This week was so busy with the most random stuff and side quests, but hey… it happens. From immigration to listening to the Tabernacle Choir, this week had a little bit of everything and not a single normal day. Actually I still don't think a normal day even exists.
Tabernacle Choir in Brazil
The Tabernacle Choir concert that we got to watch was by far the highlight of the week. The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square is The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ choir made up of 320 singers and 68 orchestra members. Oh yeah, and they are all volunteers. They sing at all sorts of events from General Conference to their own “Songs of Hope” tour. The tour passed through São Paulo this week for the first time in 45 years so it was a very special occasion. We got together at the Church to watch it. Unfortunately none of our friends were able to make it but they were able to watch it from home which was a blessing. Since no one came we sat and watched the concert while doing some online work.
Okay but real talk. If you know me you know that music is one of the most important things in my life and one of the ways I feel the spirit the most. Having the chance to watch the Tabernacle Choir celebrate 100 years of preaching the gospel in South America through music was a moment very special to me. I felt the spirit extremely strong as they testified of Christ through hymns of worship. During one part of the concert a bunch of kids went up on stage and sang “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” There is nothing more pure than kids testifying of our Savior. There was also a song sung in Portuguese called “Discípulo de Jesus Cristo” which has an English version but in my opinion the Portuguese lyrics are better. A line says “E Ele chamou a mim pra cuidar do Seu povo” which translates to “and He called me to take care of His people.” That line struck me differently than it had before. This time I truly felt how important it is to love and serve others as Christ did and still does. Overall listening to the Tabernacle Choir was so so special and I am so glad we had the chance to. I encourage you to listen to some of their music today.
The Rundown
Now we are gonna speed run this week. Ready? Too bad, we are going anyways. Tuesday, interviews with President. I lowkey talked to him for like two minutes but talked to the APs a bunch and saw some of the new missionaries and mission numbers. Later that day I led us on an adventure that led to us jumping a creek. After that adventure we met with an investigator and her family. Wednesday we had district counsel. My comp and I also won the weekly zone challenge (invite the most people to Church) so we got to spin the Wheel of Luck. Tomorrow we get to throw pie at our ZLs (this will be very satisfying). We then had a longgg lesson followed by a coordination meeting which was chill. Thursday was the “normal day.” Weekly planning followed by lots of finding.
Friday. Wow, was it a day. We woke up at 5:00am to catch a bus to the city. Why? Because I had to go back to immigration. I went in (this time without problems) and waited about 6 minutes for my card to get brought out to me. 6.5 hours of total travel for 6 minutes at immigration. You love to see it. It was cool though, we got to one of the main bus terminals in São Paulo and ran into some members that traveled from all corners of Brazil to see the Tabernacle Choir perform that night. They needed help knowing where to go and we were able to help out. We basically got to serve at the Tabernacle Choir event haha I wish. Eventually we got home and crashed on our beds. Slept for an amount of time that I will not disclose and then went to a members house for dinner. We played UNO with the kids which was fun. Saturday was a quick day, I had lunch and I got to share a really spiritual message and then a few hours later we went to watch the Tabernacle Choir. Then a member gave us a ride back to our house… NASCAR style. Sunday was church obviously followed by us filming the best chapel tour in existence (it's in the Google Photos). We marked some baptismal dates with a family we visited on Tuesday and that was the week.
More Random
Casually ran into some horses on the road multiple times
Made friends with some cows
Took a trail through a cow pasture (welcome back to Nebraska)
Barely rained this week and the temperature dropped
Ate some strange looking meat, decided I was not going to eat more and found out it was liver
Photoshoot of AP Bahia
Quotes
“UNO faz as cartas, nós fazemos as regras (Translation: UNO makes the cards, we make the rules)” [Elder Souza, 2/27/2026]
“Eu comi fígado?!? (Translation: I ate liver?!?)” [Elder Souza, 2/28/2026]
God's Hand
Getting to teach a whole family
Multiple rides from members that would have otherwise been extremely long walks
Getting to make a Chapel Tour video
Marking baptism dates
Spirit filled message I left at a lunch
Fun side quests filled with laughs
Tabernacle Choir
Spiritual Thoughts
Circling back to the music theme I have going on I want to share a message that I like to share with members about the spirit.
It all starts with a video titled “The Music of the Gospel.” We can learn the steps to a dance but without music there is not much of a purpose. You don’t feel the rhythm, you don't feel the joy, you don't feel the music. You just look a little strange. However when you add the music everything comes together. The steps, the beat, the emotions; music makes it whole. The same thing applies when it comes to the Gospel and Church. We can grow up learning to go to Church, learning to read scriptures, learning that doing these things is important, but if we don't feel that these things are important and that things are true there is not much of a purpose. That feeling comes by the spirit. We need to have the spirit with us always. Doing the steps of the Gospel and living the Gospel are two separate things. My invite is to live the Gospel. Feel the spirit, feel the joy. Don't just do the steps. I promise that you will feel a difference.
If you need a starting point, start by listening to the Tabernacle Choir throughout your day with a desire to grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know you will feel the spirit.
Okay that's all for this week. I look forward to your emails and life updates this week. Let me know how you saw God's Hand in your life this week. I love you all and pray for you all the time!
Com amor,
Elder Urbano
