The Book of Mormon has the power to change lives 6-8-09

Familia,

How are all you. Cory happy birthday!
Here is an explination of the pictures, the one with writing on our faces were from games we played at family nights. It’s a good way to get inactive back in the church or recent converts so we have them a lot. Mom send me a lot of pictures of stuff I have no pictures and its boring.I’m not worried about the bed bugs I haven’t been bit yet so who cares ha the other elders have them so as long as they stay on their mattresses I'm fine. Our apartment has always been pretty clean. We had the maggots for no reason it was crazy. I just sent some more pictures on the website so look at them. The parrots were just outside someone’s house so we started playing with them ha-ha it was really weird some guy was just chilling outside with them and the pictures of the city and stuff is around our house and from on the train which is right next to our house. This week was a rollercoaster ha it was nuts. I got beat up by a girl! Ha-ha not really but my companion and I were playing soccer on pday and we were kicking the ball back and forth. My ball was behind me and some kid was like hey that girls stealing your ball. Some crazy Dominican girl was in the street holding it. I yelled at her to give it back and she took off so I took off after her. One of her friends pushed me into a railing and they started cussing me out. There were 3 girls and one guy about 17 or 18. I simply said, give me my ball back and then she hit me in the face ha and took off so I chased her and I told the kid they better give it back or he'll be the one that gets hit ha-ha, I was pretty mad. We weren’t wearing nametags or anything so nobody knew I was a missionary and my companion was gonna fights them too ha. He started getting scared and yelled at the girls to give it back and finally they did. It sounds stupid, but you had to have been there. It was nuts ha-ha, I got hit by a girl! So that started the week. Some crazy guy in the middle of the week yelled at my companion and I as we walked by and said “JOHN SMITH WAS JUST A MAN.” I started busting up laughing and was like ya bro I know. He said john smith was just a man. He wasn’t Jesus Christ. We kept walking laughing and he came after us. Some nutty guy spent thirty minutes trying to tell us that he was basically Jesus Christ and we decided he was basically possessed. It was so crazy but one of the funniest things.Geraldo the kid from Equador that had been coming to church a ton and we dropped cuz he just didn’t want to get baptized. My companion had told him to pray about the church when we were talking on the phone one day about a week ago and we would pray for him and when he got an answer call us back. He called us back and told us he got a peaceful feeling and wanted to get baptized. We couldn’t believe it like I told you. He needed the permission of his mom like I said and he could get baptized. We met with him everyday and he asked his mom who lives in Equador twice if he could get baptized. She’s really strong in her church and so she told him he was crazy no way. He was Catholic for 4 years then Jehovah witness for 2 then Evangelista then his senti church for a year. We prayed so hard for his mom and fasted the she would let him make his own decision and be baptized cuz we needed the ok from her to baptize him. My companion and I taught him all week and had the district leader interview Geraldo Wednesday night. He had a testimony of the doctrine and covenants but still didn’t believe the book of Mormon was true. He doesn’t like to read chapters we ask him to read, he just likes to open the scriptures and where ever it opens he thinks that’s what god wants him to read. On Monday he did this and opened up to Alma chapter 5, I was stoked when he told us this cuz it’s a good chapter. We asked if he had verses he liked or had questions. He read verse 26 to us and said that when he had read it earlier that day he received a witness that the book of Mormon is true. It talks about having a change of heart and if you have can you feel it? He said he felt his heart change right then and there and testified of the book of Mormon. This was the biggest miracle, you have no idea what we went through to help him believe in the book of Mormon, he was so against it. Then Thursday morning my companion and I were planning on ways he could get the ok from his mom so Geraldo could be baptized Sunday. He called us and said his mom moved his flight from the 30th of June to this Tuesday morning. We were so depressed, we had prayed so hard and had planned so many things and met with him all week, so much work. Here you baptize one week and have to confirm the next. He couldn’t get confirmed cuz he would be gone and so he couldn’t get baptized. We told him to just get baptized in Equador but he said no way. You guys taught me for the last 3 months I won’t let anyone else baptize me, I only trust you guys. We made a plan to baptize him Saturday and see if we could confirm him Sunday. Just after we thought we could do this he calls us back and says his mom moved the flight up to Sunday morning! There goes all hope we thought! We had an appointment with Geraldo at the church at 7 and until then we walked around depressed because we had worked, prayed, seen all these miracles with him that you can’t believe and then he couldn’t get baptized. I prayed and said God, you gave us all these miracles and now he can’t get baptized. If it’s meant to be then it’s in your hands but if its not meant to be then it’s your will. We went to the church at 7 to meet Geraldo and he was upstairs in the church in a room with the district leader and we didn’t know why. We waited for him and then the president of the mission comes out with him and the district leader. We were like what the heck?! President says, 'well brethren I've interview this young man and he’s getting baptized Saturday night and confirmed right after! We couldn’t believe it! He told us he didn’t need the approval of his mom, it’s not a requirement. This was the biggest miracle ever. We made plans and had the baptism. I baptized him at 2 on Saturday, It was the coolest experience. My companion confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost right after. Geraldo then shared his testimony and it was the strongest experience ever he said he wants to serve a mission but his first mission is to convert his family. When he came out of the water and told me he felt so clean and was the happiest he's ever been. He was so thankful for my companion and me. He told us in his testimony how he received his answer that the church was true and we had never heard it. He said he was praying and saying the church wasn’t true, that Joseph smith wasn’t a prophet and the book of Mormon isn’t true. He said he heard a voice so loud and so clear that said incredulo (unbeliever). Then his heart started racing and he said he knew so strongly that this church was true. He has the strongest testimony and it was sad saying bye to him Saturday night. He was crying because he said we changed his life and he has to leave, he was so grateful. It strengthened my testimony so much that after all we can do the lord will step in and do the rest. I know the lord has a special work for this kid. You guys can’t even imagine the change in this kid, if you only had the slightest idea. I never thought I would see him get baptized but we were able to do it. I gave him a triple that I had for the first person I baptized. He said he'll read it all and was so excited to get it. Its crazy cuz as before he hated the book of Mormon and now he can’t put it down. It really has power to change lives. I’ve seen it and I know it’s true. Thanks for everything; I hope you have a good week. Love,Elder Breinholt

P.S. by the way it was really lucky i already witnessed (was a part of) a baptism. I guess the total baptisms a year in the mission is almost 500 so that means every missionary has 2 baptisms a year on average. Some go their whole missions without any. I'd heard the mission was high baptizing, but the statistics came in and its pretty terrible. 2 people a year. its really tough here so I was lucky to have had a baptism and we have another planned in 2 weeks so hopefully that goes through as planned. I'd just forgot to tell you. And I cant believe cory is driving and is a priest thats nuts !