Today turned out to be Super Sad Tuesday. Boo Hoo. I was hoping for a miracle for Mitt, but it must not have been his time to become president. Maybe things have to get really bad before he can take over and fix it. I'm still trying to figure out how McCain came out of the pack to end up with the most states and delegates so far. He was an outcast just a few months ago. I can't believe what short memories people have. Now everyone seems to be following the media's lead and singing his praises. I can't believe it. If it comes down to McCain and Hillary I'll either not vote for president or write in Mitt. Probably write in Mitt. If it's McCain and Obama, I might vote for Obama just to see what happens. Wouldn't it be funny if Utah went for Obama? That's enough about Super Sad Tuesday.
This evening Steven and I met at the MTC and had dinner in the cafeteria before going to the devotional. Tonight's speakers were Elder Claudio R. M. Costa of the Seventy and his wife. It wasn't Super Sad Tuesday yet because we hadn't gotten any of the results at that time, so we didn't have anything to be sad about. We enjoyed hearing from the Costas. Sis. Costa told the missionaries to imagine that she was their mother; and, as their mother, she would tell them that "you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. In fact, you are doing the best thing you can do." That reminded me of how I felt when Richard and Lindy went on their missions; they were in the right place at the right time doing the right thing; in fact, they were doing the best thing they could have been doing.
Elder Costa was quite enjoyable to listen to. He speaks pretty good English, but it is a little fractured. He said he is having English lessons right now to help him speak better. He told about how his family joined the Church he Brazil. He was just a young boy when the missionaries befriended him. He invited them to teach his family, which they did. Elder Costa said his father had always wondered about families and what would happen to their family after they died. But the missionaries never taught them anything about families, and his father never asked. Finally, his father said they were not interested in being taught any more, but that the missionaries were welcome to come by and visit any time. One of the missionaries went home and wrote in the contact book, "I feel that the Costas will one day join the Church. We should keep in contact with them." But missionaries didn't come to their house again for ten years. These missionaries saw the Costas' name in the contact book and felt inspired to go visit them. Before going, they prayed to know what to teach them. When the missionaries came to the door, Elder Costa's father told them they had already been taught and weren't interested. Then one of the missionaries asked, "Did you know that your family can be together forever?" The missionaries were then invited in, and they taught the Costas who were soon baptized. Elder Costa was not living at home at the time, so he didn't join the Church until five years later. He told the missionaries that this story is a good example of praying to know what you should teach each investigator as you prepare to teach. He said, "I am a product of missionary work." Then he related that when he was the area president in Brazil, a new mission president and his wife came there to serve. The mission president's wife was one of the sister missionaries who taught him when he decided to be baptized. At the conclusion of his talk he said that a mission is like an apple--you cannot count the number of people whom you will baptize, just as you cannot count the number of apple trees that can come from one apple.
After the devotional we met with the new district, District B--twelve elders that came in last Wednesday. It was nice to meet with them and get to know them better.