Testimony of Cassia!!

I am excited to share with you the testimony of another person we have been working with!  I am hoping through these you will get a chance of how much I feel I have been blessed.  I know the real joy we find in serving as missionaries comes from seeing the conversion of others.  We read in the Doctrine and Covenants about the worth of a soul:

“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;  15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!”  (D&C 18: 10, 15)

I have shared my own experience in talking with Cassia before.  Teaching her was one of the most unique and memorable experiences for me as a missionary.  I was able to teach her with my brother, and she is also the only person I taught face to face.  That is another story, today I am happy to share with you her experience, in Portuguese and English! J

Cassia –

Testemunho

Eu conheci a Igreja atraves do meu irmao, mas quando ele começou a frequentar eu senti que ele estava se afastando da familia e achava um absurdo então eu nunca havia me interessado em ir assistir uma reunião aos Domingos.  Anos se passaram e a minha irmã decidiu visitar a Igreja e aceitou ser ensinada pelos missionarios que iam a minha casa e sempre me convidava para participar de uma lição mas nunca me interessei, mas achava muito bonito a força daqueles missionarios, pois nao era facil estar longe da familia e da cultura por tanto tempo.

A primeira vez que fui a Igreja foi duas semanas antes de vir para os Estados Unidos, so fui porque eu estava na casa da minha cunhada e fui acompanha-la, mas ainda estava com o coração duro e nao consegui sentir o verdadeiro sentimento.

Quando cheguei aqui nos Estados Unidos meus amigos tentaram me converter mais eu nao me interessava, mas frequentava a Igreja aos Domingos pois como nao tinha outra coisa para fazer aqui eu ia, ate que um dia meus amigos me apresentaram para uma moça que frequentava a ala de solteiros e eu aceitei ir com ela num domingo para conhecer. Neste mesmo dia dois missionarios vieram falar comigo e pergutaram se podiam conversar, no começo pensei, ja querem me converter, mas como era tudo novo e eu estava perdida aceitei ser ensinada por eles. Recebi meu primeiro Livro de Mormom e ainda em portugues, fiquei feliz pois se tivesse sido em ingles eu nao iria ler, pois fazia um mes que eu estava nos Estados Unidos e nao entendia uma palavra. Eles começaram a ensinar e tive a colaboração de dois excelentes tradutores que me ajudaram muito com as minhas questões em duvidas.

Em um certo dia estava com um sentimento estranho ai me lembrei de ler as Escrituras e acabei adormecendo, quando me despertei venho um sentimento de calma e felicidade, mas ainda estava com duvidas. Num encontro com os Missionarios um dos Elder pediu para ler  Mosias 18: 8-10.  Na mesma hora eu obtive a resposta, se eu tinha o conhecimento de todas as coisas porque nao me batizar, mas naquele dia eu nao falei nada mas ja estava certa de que eu iria me batizar, so confirmei no encontro seguinte e neste dia eu recebi a Perola de Grande Valor, Hinario e Principio do Evangelho em Portugues, fiquei muito feliz e grata por ter aquelas palavras em minhas mãos onde eu pudesse ler e aprender mais sobre o Evangelho.

Meu batismo foi maravilhoso so faltou a minha familia para completar essa felicidade. E ainda espero poder trazer meus pais para Igreja para eles conhecerem a verdade assim como eu conheci e hoje eu conpreendo que nao era meu irmão que estava se afastando da familia, mas eu que nao estava na mesma sintonia que ele.

So tenho que agradecer aos Missionarios que me me ensinaram e aqueles que me ajudaram a conhecer e a compreender a verdade. Muito Obrigada.

My Testimony

I became familiar with the church through my brother.  When he began to attend, I felt that he was becoming distant from my family and I thought it was absurd, so I was never interested in going to a Sunday church meeting.  Years passed, and my sister decided to visit the church and she let the missionaries come to my house.  She always invited me to participate in a lesson, but I was never interested.  I thought it was very beautiful how much fortitude the missionaries had, because it wasn’t easy to be far from your family and culture for such a long time.

The first time I went to church was two weeks before coming to the United States.  I only went because I was at my sister-in-law’s house and I went with her.  I still had a hard heart and couldn’t feel the true feelings of church. 

When I arrived in the United States my friends tried to convert me but I wasn’t interested.  But, I went to church on Sundays because I didn’t have anything else to do.  One day my friends introduced me to a girl who attended the singles ward and I agreed to go to church with her one Sunday.  The same day I went to church, two missionaries came and asked if they could talk with me.  At first I thought “They already want to convert me!”, but since everything was so new and I was lost I accepted their invitation to be taught.   I received my first Book of Mormon in Portuguese.  I was happy because if it had been in English I wouldn’t have read it because I had been in the USA for a month and I didn’t understand one word.  They started to teach and had the help of two excellent translators that helped me a lot with my questions and doubts.

One day I had a strange feeling and I remembered to read the scriptures.  I ended up falling asleep.  When I woke up, a feeling of calmness and happiness came over me, but I still had doubts.  In one of the meetings with the missionaries, one of the Elders asked me to read Mosiah 18:8-10.  As I read it, I got my answer: If I had the knowledge of all of these things, why wouldn’t I get baptized?  However, that day I didn’t say anything, but I was sure that I was going to get baptized.  I told everybody on the next visit, and the same day I received the Pearl of Great Price, Hymnal, and Gospel Principles in Portuguese.  I was very happy and grateful to have those words in my hands where I could read and learn more about the Gospel.

My baptism was marvelous, I only wish that my family could have been there to complete my happiness.  And I still hope to bring my parents to the church so that they can know the truth like I do.  Today I understand that it wasn’t my brother distancing himself from the family, but that it was I who wasn’t in tune with him.

I am grateful to the missionaries who taught me and those who helped me to know and understand the truth.  Thank you.