A Great and Wonderful Branch

Man my love for this branch and for the members here continues to grow more and more as the days pass by. This last sunday is a prove of why Benfica is growing so fast and doing so well. The chapel was over flowing and we had to bring in about 15 extra chairs because of all the people that came (remember this branch split just 2 months ago). There were a ton of people there that we didn't even know, they were invited and brought by their member friends, needless to say we ran around quite a lot this last sunday trying to get everyone's names and numbers and times to pass by their house sunday. One of these people is Carlos and his wife Eduarda. They are a family that came to church from an invitation from an investigator. We passed by their house later that sunday and found out that they are a legally married family looking for the truth and a church that  worships in peace and reverence without yelling, screaming. We knew once again as soon as we started our lesson that this family was once again prepared by the savior, and once again we have the great privilege of being in their lives and helping them along the path. Carlos at the end of our lesson said many times that after church hes been having the feeling that they have just started down the correct path. So we challenged them to turn that feeling into a surety by praying and searching and receiving and answer to their questions.  It is truly amazing the miracles that can happen when the missionaries start to work with the members. We are currently teaching 5 families, 2 are legally married and doing VERY well, 2 are unmarried but one of them is about to put in their documents, and the other is going to get married this coming weekend. We are also teaching quite a few single people, mainly members of families who aren't married, and they are all doing VERY well as well. I also got word from president this week that i will stay in this area until december!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! i couldn't have asked for anything better, so hopefully by the time that i leave there will be 5 new families in Benfica... thats the goal anyways! what a great time to be alive and to work here in benfica.... i am an outrageously blessed man. 

Also is week i learned a lot about external and internal drives. The 2nd councilor in our branch Joaquim Puto, had taught me a lot about this. As missionaries in Angola we love to teach about families and marriage, but a lot of the time that desire to have people keep the commandments and be married turns to be our only concern and teaching point. I was like that until Joaquim sat with us and shared some of his 19 year old young father wisdom. In essence he said that a man with a testimony is more willing to follow the commandments then a man who is pressured from outside sources to follow the commandments. It was so simple but yet so profound... and gave us a little slap to wake us up..  I thought back to leaders and bishops ive had in my life and the best ones i ever had were the ones that never pointed out the bad and what i needed to change, but the ones that strengthened my testimony and helped me have a desire from within to do my best and to follow the savior's example (Shout out to Ma and Pa and the NUKE). So we decided to stop teaching "marriage" and to start teaching repentance through our saviors atonement. The family that we had stressed marriage a lot with was Celson and lurdes when we first found them.. but we stopped that and started to strengthen their testimonies and what a difference it has been. Celson is working like a mad man because he wants to keep the commandments, and Lurdes is playing hymns daily to try and bring the spirit as much as she can into her home. Its been really cool to see the changes in their lives because of their testimonies and not because some 19 year old punks are telling them they are breaking some commandments. So that little principle on strengthening peoples testimonies and knowledge of our savior instead of beating on them repeatedly to change and to keep the commandments has helped make some HUGE miracles happen in Benfica.    

Thats pretty much my week in a nutshell.. our investigators are doing really well, members are awesome, the leadership is great, and we are being blessed every single moments and without his help or his tender mercies i would still be in the gulf of misery i was in the first couple weeks i was here in Benfica... ohhh those were some of the worst weeks of my life.. but now i am having some of the best experiences ever and never wanting my time here in benfica to end and getting blessings on blessing on blessing.. just goes to show what a little hard work, obedience and diligence can do.. it my be super hard at first.. enough to make me want to break my leg... but itll all turn out and youll be rolling in the blessings that you will receive. And for that i will be forever grateful to my father in heaven and my savior.

hahahahaha good ole zach and joseph huh... that was a solid laugh! Thanks for the lovage and the prayage it is muchly appreciated. If you are thinking of sending a package let me know because of i some stuff that i want but dont really need, so its no big deal. 

The magic lives on

Elder Webber

1 Nephi 4:6...

This was super cool, especially Saturday we had a very cool experience. We set out of our house with almost all of our lessons fallen, so we decided to make an effort on visiting members less active and regular members to get some referrals for people to teach. After what i would call a mediocre attempt at trying to get some referrals we finally decided to go and bate some doors. Which i have grown to hate more then anything else... we walked aimlessly around for about 5 minuets until we finally decided to chose a door and knock on it. We walked a little more and reached a fork in the road.. both of us without saying a word stopped.... stood silently then walked to the left.. we then walked a little more and took the first road on the left with out saying a word to each other... and we then walked up to the first door on the left... (choose the left my friends) Turns out the door we arrived to we had already knocked once but no one was there the last time to we decided to once again knock it. We knocked it and heard someone coming so we waited... and waited.. until finally someone came to open the door and without us saying a word they instantly let us in.... it was all very strange... as soon as we entered we could feel the spirit give us a quick slap and say why are you surprised.. this is not your work this is his work... do it his way and you will find those prepared to receive you. we sat with a family legally married, Milton and Elizabeth..   The lesson was powerful and the spirit present as we bore testimony and taught about joseph smith.. when we ended we invited Milton to pray and ask god if what we taught them was true.. and it was the most powerful prayer i have ever heard on my mission.. his desire to know the truth and to follow it was amazing.. We are very excited to sit with this family agian as we both had the confirmation that this family had been prepared for this message.. We hope all goes well with them.

I thought a lot this week as well about obedience, love, and christlike attributes.. i dont have much time to write what i have learned and i also dont want to because im going to save them for a raining day when i have to give a talk i want my material to be fresh and new.. so i wont share it all. but i started last week reading the gospels in the NT with a list of the christlike attributes that are found in PMG and a couple of colored pencils. each color represents an attribute of christ.. and as i have read the life of the savior focusing on his attributes and how he acted and taught my knowledge has grown amazingly on how i can become more like him, many attributes are connected and when we grow in one we grow in another.. also the more we grown in them all the more we see the need to improve and how much we truly lack. It has really been an enlightening experience to focus on the savior life and his will and trying to mold my life so that i am able to reflect his will. Its been very cool.

All is well here in Benfica.. all our investigators are doing great and progressing nicely.. we´ve reached a point where we are going to baptize all our investigators but dont have anyone to fill their spots.. so in other words we will be doing a lot of contacts these next few days. Just doing the usual work and having a lot of fun with the investigators, members and people here in angola. Its been a great time serving here in this area and im excited that i have at least 2 more months here before i leave this area. Sounds like home is fun.. back to school, back to school, to prove that you are not a fool.... have fun with that...

Elder Webber

A Baptsm

This week was fun, because a big highlight of the week was the Valdemiro baptized his son Luzolo. It was really good, and was very cool to see a new member of the church use the priesthood to bless his family for the first time. Plus Vanusa received a calling this week at church, 2nd councilor in the YW... if this calling isnt perfect for her i dont know which calling is. They are doing really well. Célson and Lurdes got one of the big documents that they need to get married, so thats one big step closer to them getting married. They are also doing really well and the sons antonio and eddy are growing in their desire to read the BOM and to come to church so its been a ton of fun seeing the whole family come to church. Darciela said she knows the book of mormon is true and is progressing very nicely with the help of some members in the branch who are taking her under their wings and befriending her. Helga and Paulo came to our branch for the first time since they moved here and said that they loved, everything is going very well for them to get married on the 2nd and to be baptized on the 10th so we are very excited for them as well. Once again this week, Family night comes in for the win.. its very interesting how something so small as a 5 minute spiritual thought and a 45 minute game can bring the spirit so strong to help reactivate members and have investigators grow in their testimonies. While on my mission it has become one of my tools to use and one of my favorite nights of the week, mainly because i actually get to dance and have fun without being judged by children and people on the street.. but also to see the changes that take place in a family. 

We also walked with our branch president. President Nataneil.... in other words he drove us in his car... ohhhhhhhhh its so nice to get rides from members to lessons and not walk in this loose sand that makes me feel like im 20 pounds heavier... or maybe its because im 20 pounds heavier then i was before the mission... i dunno either way its nice to get a ride from members. He left a great example for how a leader in the church should be though.. he is always looking after the one that has gone astray, and is always looking to increase peoples testimonies by helping them personally and loving them for who they are. Which is also somethings i learned on my mission.. ive learned to love these people as the lord sees them, it really changed my perspective on my teachings and the way that i work and serve others around me. It use to be hard to head out the door because i felt obligated to go, but now im happy to leave because i know that the gospel will bless these children of god who need it. I have grown in my love for these people, also this week we saw 2 elders who came back to visit/ do buisness here in angola. I got to talk with them a little, and after i did i thought the whole time.. yes i would love to come back and visit this place.. yes its hot, yes its stinky and no one follows the laws or rules here.. but these people are awesome and i love them! and thats all that matters

Well done zach on the rugby torny.. im excited to come back and play with him and BYU and this 7s team.. if im good enough.. but i know with the blessings i recieve from my father in heaven i can do it. Sounds like some good stuff back at home... and jared.... get married you bum.. stop waiting "scrawny". Magic Man out

Elder Webber

Sundays...

Not gonna lie... i hated sundays on the mission. Coming home after 3 hours of not understanding a single word of what was going on... looking through the shelfs trying to find a can of beans or some rice to eat for lunch cause you ate it all during the week, heading out the door and seeing that all your plans had fallen through and doing hours upon hours of contacting and having doors closed in your face... yeah i was not a fan at all of sundays.. but in this area sundays have come to be my favorite days of the week.. (more than p-day). We take a nice little walk over to the church, where we see such amazing members welcoming our investigators into church. There's bonding and happiness all around, the presidency is awesome, the members share strong and power testimonies and help investigators grow theirs. We have members wanting to fed us every sunday, and always have someone to visit. This last Sunday was especially awesome, Taric the less active has made some hard decisions in his life to do what is right and shared a strong testimony about that, Also Joel a potential missionary we have been working with shared a great testimony about that, and even Celson our investigator got up and shared a really strong testimony about the church and the book of mormon, plus elder smith and i team taught like champions in the gospel principles class... second week in a row even! I love this branch and the members, being the only 2 missionaries in the branch has helped out a lot, the lord has been blessing us greatly with members willing to help, the spirit in our lessons, and investigators taking the initiative.  We have been asked several times by our investigators what they have to do to be baptized... what a great blessing it see to be a humble tool in the hands of the lord in doing his work and seeing the lives of so many change. I am so grateful for all he has blessed me with, he was done such a great work with this branch and I'm happy to see it and be apart of it. 

Celson and lurdes are doing really well, they are doing as much as they can to get married and have the money to be married. They have a lot of trails and difficulties but their testimonies of the gospel and the blessings from our father in heaven keep them going and doing whats right. Along with their sons. We have another family joao and carla, they are recently married and are searching for something more then the worlding things, they don't go to a specific church and are looking for the truth... well well well just so happens we have the truth and the lord has blessed us with his spirit and the chance to teach you! They are doing well in other words. Another family we are teaching is Paulo and Elga.. they have been investigating the church for over 3 years now and are finally about to be married on the 2 of September. They recently moved into our area from another branch, they shared their story and testimonies with us yesterday and have already been preparing to go to the temple to be sealed. We are also teaching Darciela, she's the sister of Elga and she as well is doing really well. Luzolo Valdemiro and Vanusas son will be baptized this coming saturday and Valemiro is very excited to baptize his son. We have a whole lot of work to do in this area and not a whole lot of time... 

I have come to the point now to when i close my eyes for an opening or closing prayer in our lessons i quickly sneak in a little nap. There has been many times where during a lesson i start nodding off and i have to muster all the strength that i have to stay awake.. its a daily problem.. but its a good sign. I love this area so much, the recent converts, members, investigators, all of them are amazing. Its a good thing i am guaranteed to stay here at least one more transfer.. to be honest.. i would not mind staying here for the rest of my mission. Hello welcome to Benfica, where the street dogs are my biggest concern, and the road rules don't matter... 

I miss the olympics, we get to hear a little here and there about it but not a whole lot.. angola doesn't have a lot to compete for so the people here aren't too interested in following it. But i would love to have a couple updates on how the rugby 7s is in the olympics, 

Thank you, the magic will live on,

Elder Webber

Good bye to the worlds greatest senior couple ever!! we will miss the henrys dearly... We love you!!

Chillin on the street with the bois.. 

Transfers

Stress overload, sickness, constant headache, and painful legs are the things that i would use to describe this week. To start it off Elder Dlamini made lunch for us, he was in a hurry so we don't think he cook it the way it should have been because my comp and i all this last week have had the feeling of our insides exploding.. not fun. It appeared to be a parting gift for my comp and i because this week he got transferred.. (NOOOOOOO not my swaziland warrior/witch doctor!!) along with his companion Elder Paulino.. so you know what that means.. yup yo guessed it, elder webber is once again white-washing an area.. i have only served in 3 areas, but i have white washed or opened 5...... it doesn't make sense to me either. I am however very grateful for the opportunity and for the trust that president and the savior have in us. We were surely put through the ringer as we more than doubled our area and our work loaded. It´ll be fun, because know we have the whole branch to ourselves, and in my humble opinion i think that the Benfica branch is the best one.. so i am very excited to visit all the members, and investigators now. 

This week president fernandez past away during a church meeting on saturday (he was my first branch president here in angola and the father of my current branch president) The church is still very small here in angola so when something like this happens every single member knows. It was great to see so many church members, support and love this family that has done so much to help the lords work move along here in angola. the african culture here is not something that loves or welcomes death, yet seeing the differences between the church members who have a knowledge and testimony of the plan of salvation and those that do not have that testimony was quite amazing. You see much whailing and weeping, yet with the members they had peace, they had comfort, they had the knowledge the everything was alright. our father in heaven has a plan, its perfect, i teach it and testify of it daily. His family was sealed to him and what a great comfort it is to know that they will once again be back together for all time and eternity. It was sad to this news, but like any situation we can look at the positive, see it as one more step closer to our father in heaven and living with our families forever.

This week i walked a lot, which means my legs are about to exlpode, but it also means that i had the chance to think a lot. We are having fun in this massive area we currently have, dont have to many experiences to share this week, just doing the usual work here in benfica. Nothing to special. Other then celson is doing really well with his wife, they are close to getting married so we are very very excited for them. their sons are also doing really well, setting a great example for thier friends which is bring more people to learn more, so its all good in the hood! Im grateful to be a missionary, to look back at my life and see who i was to who i am know. Im so grateful to change that i have experince as i serve the savior here in angola, 

Elder Webber