Sunday, November 2, 2008

Elder Scott visits Brazil


Elder Scott came to Brazil. Elder Scott:
Study the Book of Mormon and the Preach My Gospel manual for the duration of you mission. . .Throughout the remainder of my life I will seek to learn by what I hear, see, and feel. I will write down the important things I learn and I will do them. Do this consistently as it is dictated by the spirit. Re-read what you write. Study what you write. Pray if what you wrote is accurate as to what you felt and what the Lord is trying to communicate with you. Ask if there is more. Often you will find that if you write down the impressions you receive more direction will come. This will help you to learn to recognize the promptings of the Spirit in your life. The choir prepared a special number to sing during his visit. We had three practices during the week and 154 missionaries sang with us. It was marvelous. We had a missionary play the violin with the choir (right now we have four elders who play the violin). We also have a very good flute player who played along with the choir (he is leaving on Tuesday Nov 4th and I am praying for another missionary who can play the flute. It adds such a wonderful sound. I am praying for his replacement. Elder Fielding who conducted had never lead a choir before but was magnificent. I feel very good about what I have done in having the missionaries conduct the choir. For some this may have been the first but most likely not the last experience they will have leading, singing, and organizing the music in the wards and branches and cities where they will sever here in Brazil. a quartet sang one verse. It was glorious. Rather than take time for the choir to move from the traditional spot off to the side of the congregational seating we had the choir in three semicircles in the back of the hall. The missionaries stayed in the choir seats during the whole meeting. The performance went beautifully and all who participated and all who experienced the singing of the missionaries were touched by their power of their performance. Elder Scott took notice that we had more in the choir than were in the congregation. Elder Scott also took time right before he spoke to invite everyone to come up and shake his hand. It was nice that the choir was invited to come up first.


2 comments:

Sharon said...

Oh how reading your beautiful experience brought back memories of our time at the CTM! Even to the very words spoken by Elder Scott on how to receive and learn from the Spirit. It was such a marvelous learning time for us there.

Thank you for renewing those precious memories for us. Can't wait to work our way back now and read all your posts!

Love you two!
Elder & Sister De Paula

David and Kris Taylor said...

You are a musical genius.

Vern looks positively skinny in the first photo.

Abraços e beijos!

D.