Elder D. Andrew Greenman

Our son, Elder Andrew Greenman, has been called to serve in the Mozambique Maputo Mission. He has asked me to create this blog so that you, the reader, can read his letters to home. His current writing address is found below along with the most recent letter.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Week "I've lost count" (Andrew's Own Title)


Hello everyone!!! 
There are so many churches in the world, each one with different philosophies.  Here in Dondo alone, there are probably 20. Which is about 19 too many.  There is however a particular church that began in Brasil and is now very popular here.  It is called the Universal Church or ''Igreja Universal"   These people are crazy!!!  I think anyone that has served in Brasil can agree with me at this point.  One night Elder Gergetz and I were walking back from and appointment that fell through.  It was almost time to head back home anyway, but we figured we'd try and get some contacts.  Just of this particular road we were walking on was a big two story cement building that was constructed by the Portuguese years ago.  The Universal Church would meet in the second story.  Elder Gergetz looked my way and asked me if I wanted to go check it out.  I said why not, thinking in my head of various reasons why not.  We started heading towards the building, it was extremely dark outside and extremely loud.  This was on Friday, which happens to be when the people go to get devils cast out of them.  We walked up the cement stairs and at this point I couldn't hear a thing other than the screaming and yelling of a man (the preacher)  We made our way into an extremely big room where we sat in the back where no one could really see us.  (The lights were off)  The whole friday night meeting consited of this so called preacher screaming into a Microphone at the top of his lungs, and the speakers blasting out the words of the preacher which consisted of "Suca!" (Pronounced Sooka, which means leave) and some other not so appropriate words including the Name of our God.  Needless to say we didn't stay too long.  We found our way out of the building and went home.  On the way back to our house we discussed the difference in our church meetings and those of the universal church.  We happen to have an investigator who went to the universal church and thats all she did for 20 years.  She's very accostomed the the traditions of that church, she likes having someone up in her face forcing her to pay tithing.  She has this mindset that the word of God hurts, but is good.  Its been hard to help her leave those traditions behind and recognize the spirit when she comes to our church.  She has progressed a lot and seems to be developing a stronger testimony in the verity of the church.
After that experience my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown tremendously.  I know that this is the true church, that it always has been, that Joseph Smith restored that same Gospel of Jesus Christ that was on the earth before.  I know that this was, is, and always will be the true church and that there is no other way to exaltation. 2 Nephi 31:21
-Elder Greenman

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