Brazilian Baking

I've been doing a lot more baking lately because I find great pleasure in taking cookies to members and watching them take that first bite into a chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter cookie (I use some strange, but delicious peanut candy that is basically dried peanut butter to give my cookies a peanut butter taste).  I love watching as their faces transform and are filled with the joy that can only come from eating a chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter cookie!!  Brazilians don't use measuring cups to cook, so I've developed the talent of 'eyeballing it'.  Surprisingly, I haven't ruined any recipes yet, I just have 20 different types of banana bread that all come from the same recipe!! heehee!

This past week, we had an appointment to teach a family that was a reference from a member.  During our planning the night before, Sister East and I decided to do some contacting in a neighborhood that was quite a long ways from our apartment.  As we were walking there, Sister East made the comment that perhaps our planning hadn't been that good because we were going to end up walking a lot for what appeared to be little success.  However, as we were nearing the neighborhood, we heard someone call out our names.  We turned around and saw the wife of the family we had marked to teach that night.  She told us that she had to pick up her son from a meeting and that she would be 30 minutes late for our appointment.  She then told us that she had found out about this meeting yesterday night, and was worried all day that she wouldn't be able to tell us about the change of times and that we would pass by and assume that she had forgotten.  A coincidence that Sister East and I planned to make contacts that neighborhood near this woman's work?...I think not!  Later that night, after we had taught our lesson, I was writing something in my planner when the husband asked me if he could see the picture that I had taped on the front of my planner.  It was the picture of Jesus stepping out of the tomb on the pass along cards.  The husband then told us that he had found a picture identical to this picture when he was in São Paulo.  He had brought the picture home with him and had put it on their refridgerator!  A coincidence that I chose to tape this picture to my planner, the same picture that this man had found in São Paulo?...I think not!  It is incredible to see how the Lord is guiding our lives!  As I thought about these experiences, I remembered a talk by Elder Bednar.  He made the comment that many people worry about the question, 'how can you know when the spirit is guiding you?'  His answer was, 'Stop worrying about it, and just be a good boy, or a good girl!'  It seems too simple, but it's true.  If we are being righteous and obedient, then the Lord is going to guide our lives.  We will be instruments in his hands to comfort those who are in need of comfort, to strengthen someone's faith, to answer someone's prayer, and to take the Gospel to all the world!