July 21, 2014
I can't think of anything else for a title. . . how sad is that? But
really, things are quite groovy here so. . .
I got 4 letters in less than 1 week! Talk about miracles people!
Grandma thank you for the wedding announcement! Mark, how cute are you guys?!
Sister Chisholm and Y.W, thank you! Sister Tarwater, thank you for always
sending the ward newsletter, i love reading about the other missionaries. I
canNOT believe that everyone is coming home! Hunter, hi! Weird moment when I
realized that you already are home!
Sounds like the cabin was super fun fam! Gosh!
Ok, here we go.
Segunda: We had the surprise birthday part for Pres. Monteirro, it
was awesome. Imagine 150+ missionaries huddled and whispering in a dark chapel
blowing up baloons, it was great:) I love going into the city, everytime we go
i get so excited! After our time in Europe i fell so comfortable there! Sister
Cox did not however, she's from Montanha and lives in the middle of beautiful
mountains. .. it was fun to help her and feel super cool because i could cross
the road and bargain with a dude for her new bag. Yessss I did, it was epic:)
Terça: This was the day we found Maria, our batismo ontem. Or rather
she found us. We were walking down the road miding our own business (shame on
us !) When this little lady grabbed Sister Cox's hand and asked if she could
walk with us, sure!! I felt prompted to ask if we could visit her and her
family right then rather than wait unti another day. Sure! Turns out she had
already been to church with her family a bunch and then we found out that they
were all members except her! When we got to her house we met Orland her
husband. He was baptized 4 years ago and loved the church , served in the
Temple, looooves the hymns and then started looking for answers to his
questions on the internet. It's not bad to have questions about doctrines etc,
it's good! But search the source! Yikes. Anyway, we ended up having a really
good lesson with them and I felt the Lord using me to help this man with his
questions. Really, I had to be a little bit bold with him but it was what he
needed and I could just feel the ideas come into my mind! It was a cool lesson.
Maria has always wanted to get baptized but would never stop smoking. As it
turns out she ahd quit the day before and was continuing with her goal. . . .
Orland had been praying that she could get baptized someday because he wants to
get sealed in the Temple! Opa! She is very sweet, very simple minded, she is
like a child right now. I think an accident of some sort happened or she has a
sickness. Anway, she's very humble, simple and child-like, but we are all
commanded to be like this! Before almoço us four sister were all walking
together, down the road to the member's house where we had almoco right? 4 Y.W
in sunday clothes, laughing, etc. etc. + the fac the Brazillians are just so
much more open with their feelings etc and many of the Brazillian men have no
shame= many comments, looks, etc etc from men driving by etc. Chato. But never
fear. I had a genious idea: We were all walking in a line so it was like a wall
of skirt clad locos walking down the street. I told the other sisters to pull a
face the next time a guy drove by and made a comment, RIGHT after ( you all
know how good I am at this .. . ) The next guy on a motorcycle was
perfect. He put up the visor on his helmet and said, " oh minha nossa! Que
bonita!" Craning his neck to keep looking at us. Go! I'm sure the sight
was horrendous. We had many good laughs every time. Dad, you always said that
no one deserves the faces I can pull. . . . hahah these guys do!
Quinta: We visited 3 women in less than 24 hours that after 5
minutes of letting us in broke down sobbing telling us their different but
equally devastating situations/experiences. The last time Sister Cox looked at
me and whispered, " I'm only 20 years old! I don't know about this kind of
stuff!" It's true, we don't. But we have the Gospel to give to them and
this extra missionary spirit to discern how to do it! My favorite experience
was Marli.We were walking down the road planning to go knock doors a little
further down. I looked down a road and had a distinct impression that we need
to go down that road, to the house on the corner. Again, that corner is
important. ?? I've never really "felt a house" before and kept
walking a couple of steps. But what the heck, I told sister Cox I wanted to
knock that road, so we turned around and started knocking, it was like 10:30 in
the morning and no one let us in. We talked with one family that said we could
come back, I figured that maybe that was why? We got to the end of the road and
Sister Cox was turning around right before the house on the corner, I
remembered, looked over and there was a lady sitting out on her patio. I told
Sister Cox I wanted to knock there. She let us in, right a way and we started
talking with her. We were getting to know her a little bit when she started
crying telling us about her family. She lives with her 2 20 something kids but
they just live there and don't appreciate her and everything she does for them
etc. She had divorced her husband about 9 months ago and everyone in the family
blames her. She was cryin and crying, telling us that she feels so uselss and
feels like she has no one now, she doesn't even have a desire to wake up in the
mornings and take a shower. It was heartbreaking, Sister Cox and I were both
brought to tears. I went to sit by here and hold her hand because I did'nt know
what else to do. She kept crying and telling us how she just wants to know
God's plan for her. I all of a sudden felt so happy knowing that we had the
knowledge that she has been waiting for! I knew then that we had been
instruments in the Lord's hands in every sense of the word! Again, I knew what
to say and felt so grateful that I had listened to that little prompting. The
thing is, it wasn't very strong, or anything. How scary to think that if I had
ignored it she would have stayed there on her porch, alone, in despair,
questioning her life. The lesson was great and she loved every bit of the Plan
of Salvation. It's a pretty great plan:) Anyway, it was one of the cooelst experiences
ever .:) I'm definitely going to do better at beingin tune with the Spirit and
following those little fleeting thoughts. I hope you guys will try to do the
same! You never ever know how a little thing can really be what someone else
needs. And being that instrument, knowing that Heavenly Father used you to
help´someone else is the best feeling ever I think:)
Seixta: We had a mission conference with President. I love that man,
I know he is called of God! My favorite thing i learned was about the domino
effect. He told us that every single little action we do has an effect.
Especially now as missionaries, men and women, we cannot ever think that we can
just make whatever decision we want and that it will only affect us. Nope. And
so, this really goes along with following promptings. Follow those little
promptings and you never know how those little things will make a sometimes
lasting effect on others!
I love you guys soooo much! I love serving a mission too! I'm trying
to improve every day:) I love this Gospel:)
Love,
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