Family, Faith,...and Horses!

The following e-mail was received today:

Well another week has gone by here on the mission. This next week is the last week of the transfer. I´m guessing that me and my comp will stay, but we´ll see. 

Earlier this week we had leadership training in Aldeota. It´s the center of Fortaleza where the mission office is. A bunch of things were said. Missionary work is changing. President had a meeting with some of the area seventy. They said that now is the beginning of when the church will grow the most in all of history--here in Brasil and also the world. For this to happen, we are to find and focus on families. Our missionary purpose is now "achar, ensinar, resgatar"--which means to find, teach, and save. Baptism is still important but not necessarily number one on the list--which is strange, but things change. We are going to be working with a bunch of members and non-actives to find these families. But I do believe that the church will truly grow this way. The family is the basis of this church. Without our families, we cannot have eternal joy. . .  For that I can say that I love my family. All of you. On the mission I've truly learned about the importance of the family. Day by day we´re trying to bring this same happiness to other families. 

Never give up!

This past week was a bit tough. Wasn't necessarily very many people to teach. Juggling two very large areas is difficult at times. At the end of the week we had a blessing though. The whole day the Lord answered my prayers almost instantly. We found several people to teach and the whole day just...worked. Something that doesn't always happen. I've been pushed several times to the barrier of just wanting to give up....but I knew it was just another trial of my faith and that if I stayed strong 'til the end, things would turn up. And it did. 

On a crazier note, the other day we were walking to an appointment and we almost got ran over by some stray horses. My comp jumped over a fence, and I ran the other way. Luckily they calmed down and then we scared them off to the other direction. Have a great week!
 
--Elder Castagno