Great Week!

The weeks just keep getting better and better. The Lord is blessing us with a lot of work and we are so grateful for fit. These week was full of a quite a few experiences that I will never forget. Let me tell you about one of them.

I´ll start by telling you about a man named Cristiano. Cristiano was introduced to the Gospel by a friend that he met on a hospital bed. They were both together in the same hospital room for a few days and this man that he met loved him enough to share the Gospel with him. This man´s name is Jose and he was baptized about 4 months ago in another branch. As they layed there together in the hospital Jose told Cristiano of the joy and peace that the Gospel has brought in his life and it motivated Cristiano to want to learn more. 2 Sundays ago he came to church for the first time and loved it. We got his contact and set an appointment to meet with him later in the week. This man is incredible. We went to his humble home where he lives alone with one of his sons (20 years old) and introduced him to the Restoration. We expressed to him the love that Heavenly Father has for everyone of us and the power that the Atonement can have in our lives. As he told us a little bit about is past he started crying, he said that he can´t help but cry thinking back on all of the mistakes that he´s made. He lived and fought through the war and it really took a toll on him. He has 6 kids, each of which is with another woman. He wants so bad to feel at peace with himself and is willing to do whatever it takes to have a clean conscious. Our first meeting ended with us leaving him with the commitment to read the pamphlet on the Restoration. When we came back two days later he had that thing down. It was the easiest lesson that I´ve ever taught. Usually it´s your companion that finishs your sentences not the investigator. It was incredible. As we invited him to baptism at the end of the lesson, he reacted in a way that I will never forget. He just let out a "Halleluyah" and said how he will do whatever it takes. We set the date of the 5th of October with him. I love this man! I am so glad that the Lord has trusted us with him. And I am so glad that Jose had the desire to share the Gospel with him! I feel so bad for the millions of people out there that find themselves in the same situation that Cristiano was in. Absolutely miserable because of their past mistakes, suffering from the weight of guilt, and wishing that they could start over. The Savior has already suffered for all of our sins and mistakes, we don´t need to! I am so grateful for the Atonement! It has changed my life and I am seeing it change the lives of so many people here in Angola. There is nothing that makes us feel the love of the Savior like feeling the peace that comes through repentance. We are so lucky to have the knowledge of the Atonement, we HAVE to share it. 

This week was incredible! I wish so bad that I could tell you everything... But time doesn´t exactly permit. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for you constant prayers and support. Have the greatest week of your lives!

Love,

Elder Hyde