My first transfers were today. It is expected
that for the first 2 or 3 transfers you will stay with your trainer, learning
the language, learning how to teach, and just accustomating to missionary
work. So, my trainer and I were quite sure that nothing would happen in
our apartment for this transfer, especially since this is her very last
transfer before she goes home. We were so certain of this that we had
even planned out what we wanted to do for our next 6 P-Days in her final
transfer. Imagine our surprise when the Elders called us last night and
told us that Sister Araújo was being transferred to Mossoró and I was being
transferred to Guarabira! It is strange to just pack up and leave all our
investigators and especially Orlanda. Sister Araújo and I hadn't
officially said goodbye to anyone because we figured that we would be
staying...what a strange feeling to realize how much I had grown to care about
these people in such a short time and now I will probably never see them again,
but I guess this sort of thing happens a lot on the mission. It just made
me realize the importance of not waiting until 'tomorrow' to do what you can do
'today'.
Natal was a
wonderful city to begin my mission. The ward was warm and welcoming.
The days were hot, windy, and rainy; and the açaí was cheap! The rainy
days were some of my favorite because we always got the best responses from
people when we would knock/clap at their houses. *Picture this* Two
sister missionaries standing in the rain in front of a house, skirts soaked,
wind blowing. Person pokes their head out the window, 'Quem é?'
Missionaries respond, 'Somos missionárias, podemos entrar e fazer um oração com
sua família?' Person looks at us for a moment and then makes this
remarkable statement, 'It's raining." No, you don't say! -- And
we're standing out in it! hahahah! Good times in Natal. As
we made contacts with numerous people everyday, it was incredible to see how
the Lord provided countless opportunities for His children to accept the
Gospel. Everyone we spoke to either already had a Book of Mormon, lived
near a chapel, had family or friends that were members, had already had the
missionaries in their home, or had heard about the Church in someway. What
was sad, was that even with so many contacts with the Gospel these people still
couldn't recognize the need for it in their lives. We entered the home of
one family whose son was a member of the Church, served a mission in São
Paulo, and had married a returned missionary in the
temple. This family had also had the missionaries in their home every
Wednesday for quite some time in the past. We taught them a brief lesson
and invited them to come to church this Sunday, but sadly they rejected the
offer once more. The Lord never gives up on us. He is constantly
working in our lives, standing at our door knocking -- but do we take the time
to recognize His influence in our life; do we take the time to answer the
door? Another man who we came into contact could recognize the Lord's
hand in his life. Sister Araújo and I first made a contact with his
grandson. When we returned to teach the grandson, we ended up teaching
his son. Then, when we returned to follow up with his son we found him, Iran!
We spoke with him for a short while and invited him to come to church with us
on Sunday. He came and loved it! He said that he felt much lighter
and happier after attending our church. We immediately began teaching him
and invited him to be baptized the following Sunday! Just like Orlanda,
he immediately became enthralled with the Book of Mormon. Everything we
taught him made sense to him and he easily accepted the commitments we
extended. After one lesson he made the comment, 'you came here to teach my
son and grandson, but I was really the one who needed to hear your
message." It was incredible to watch as the Gospel light filled Iran's
soul and began to bring a joy and peace into his life that he hadn't had for a
long time. The Gospel is true! The Gospel has the power to change
your life, but you have to choose to let it. I testify that the Lord is
working in our lives everyday. He is guiding us and blessing us; let us
not be blind and deaf to His influence in our life, but rather let us open the
door wide for His power and mercy that will bring us a peace and happiness we
never imagined was possible!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
After the Manner of Happiness
We (the four sisters who work in the Ponta Negra
area) had three baptisms scheduled for this Sunday. The other two sisters
had a teenage boy and a middle aged man, and we had our dear Orlanda.
Naturally, nothing went as planned! Saturday night, we received a call
saying that a Bishop in one of the wards in our Stake had passed away and that
the viewing would be tomorrow morning. Therefore, ALL church meetings
were canceled for the morning, but sacrament meeting would be rescheduled for 5:00 pm. Our baptisms
were going to take place at 12:00 after
the original meetings, but now they would have to happen at 6:00 pm. The four of us
sisters spent the morning running around to our different investigators that we
had invited to Church and our three investigators that were going to be
baptized, and informed them of the changes. Thankfully, all three were
fine with the changes and at 6:00 we
had a marvelous baptismal service!
I had never witnessed a 79 year old woman being baptized before, and to be quite honest I was terrified that something catastrophic might occur. One brother who was already in the baptismal font helped Orlanda down the steps. Then, I turned to our Bishop, who was also dressed in white to baptize the young teenager, and asked, "are you going to help Orlanda too?" He replied, "No, I'm going to start praying!" He then bowed his head right then and started praying silently to himself! hahaha! Believe me, I was praying too! Everything went smoothly for Orlanda, and she came out of the font just beaming with joy! When I asked her if she was happy, she replied that I didn't even know how happy she was at that moment! It truly is miraculous to see the joy that the Gospel brings into our lives. Everyday I have the opportunity to interact with a variety of different people. All of them have one thing in common; all want to have peace and happiness in this life - but unfortunately very few know where to find this true happiness. In 2 Nephi 2:25 we learn that the purpose of this life is for us to have joy. Adam didn't fall so that we could all come to this earth and suffer and be miserable! So then why do so many people suffer? How can we have true happiness despite the fact that we live in a fallen world? The answer is simple - through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We have the power to 'choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men'. We have the opportunity to apply the atoning blood of Christ in our lives that we may receive a forgiveness of our sins and that our hearts may be purified! And, as King Benjamin so beautifully put it, "and moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness!" (Mosiah 2:41) We may not be able to control the world around us, but we always have the power to 'act for ourselves and not to be acted upon.' By keeping the commandments and living faithful to the covenants that we have made with the Lord, we will be able to truly 'live after the manner of happiness' - true happiness - the kind of happiness that makes a 79 year old women as giddy and animated as an 8 year old girl!
I had never witnessed a 79 year old woman being baptized before, and to be quite honest I was terrified that something catastrophic might occur. One brother who was already in the baptismal font helped Orlanda down the steps. Then, I turned to our Bishop, who was also dressed in white to baptize the young teenager, and asked, "are you going to help Orlanda too?" He replied, "No, I'm going to start praying!" He then bowed his head right then and started praying silently to himself! hahaha! Believe me, I was praying too! Everything went smoothly for Orlanda, and she came out of the font just beaming with joy! When I asked her if she was happy, she replied that I didn't even know how happy she was at that moment! It truly is miraculous to see the joy that the Gospel brings into our lives. Everyday I have the opportunity to interact with a variety of different people. All of them have one thing in common; all want to have peace and happiness in this life - but unfortunately very few know where to find this true happiness. In 2 Nephi 2:25 we learn that the purpose of this life is for us to have joy. Adam didn't fall so that we could all come to this earth and suffer and be miserable! So then why do so many people suffer? How can we have true happiness despite the fact that we live in a fallen world? The answer is simple - through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We have the power to 'choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men'. We have the opportunity to apply the atoning blood of Christ in our lives that we may receive a forgiveness of our sins and that our hearts may be purified! And, as King Benjamin so beautifully put it, "and moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness!" (Mosiah 2:41) We may not be able to control the world around us, but we always have the power to 'act for ourselves and not to be acted upon.' By keeping the commandments and living faithful to the covenants that we have made with the Lord, we will be able to truly 'live after the manner of happiness' - true happiness - the kind of happiness that makes a 79 year old women as giddy and animated as an 8 year old girl!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The Lord's Elect!
A friend of mine who is also serving in Brazil right
now wrote this to me, "The people who have been prepared by the Lord to
receive you will be truly interested in the Book of Mormon. Some will be
absolutely captivated by it. These are the elect of the Lord."
This past week we have been teaching Orlanda, the elderly woman who we found
through a man who was painting her home. From the moment we gave her the
Book of Mormon, she has been truly captivated by it! One day we showed up
to teach and she told us that she had spent the whole day reading! This
79 year old daughter of God is incredible! We teach her a new principle
and then ask her if she will commit to live it and she replies "com
certeza!" One night, she commented to us that she remembered her
father telling her about 'another Bible'. She also told us that she
remembered him telling her stories that were very similar to the ones that she
was now reading in the Book of Mormon! Wow! As soon as Orlanda is
baptized this Sunday, my companion and I will begin to teach her about
geneology and how she can start preparing names in her family to have their
work done for them. I'm sure she has a lot of family anxiously waiting to
receive the Gospel.
During lunch with some members, the wife commented on how strong I looked and then the husband told my companion that she had better be careful. I replied that I wouldn't kill a fly. The wife looked at me and said, "you wouldn't have to kill the fly, it'd die of fright first!" hahaha! As with most things in my life, I don't like to do things at a 'normal level'; the more adrenaline, the better! Of course, a mission has it's limits, but I've figured out how to take a normal street contact to the next level of excitement! A normal street contact consists of talking about the person's family, the Book of Mormon, and the living prophets. Preach My Gospel suggested that we can make a street contact using any principle of the Gospel and than refer it quickly back to the Restoration in some way. I decided that I wanted to try making a street contact using the word of wisdom. Here is how it went...my companion and I were walking down the street and I saw a man who was smoking approaching us. I thought to myself, 'now here is someone who could really benefit from the principles found within the word of wisdom.' We approached him and I said, "Hello, we're missionaries and we teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that was restored throught a living prophet. One of the truths that we received through this prophet is called the Word of Wisdom, which teaches us how we can take care of our bodies. What things are you doing now to keep your body healthy?" (at this point I'm sweating buckets and the adrenaline is pumping) He said something about exercising (I think) and then I replied, "perfect, that is good for your body, but we also need to not drink, do drugs, drink coffee, and not smoke" (at this point I gestured to his cigarette that he was holding and become even slightly more nervous, but continued to smile confidently at him). He replied that he knew smoking was bad for him and that he had tried to stop, but that it was difficult. We asked him if he still had the desire to stop and that we would be willing to help him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the desire to stop...but we did our part. Besides street contacts, we also 'bate porta', which is either clapping at someone's gate in front of their house or ringing their buzzer/intercome on the outside of their gate. The Elder's in our district told us to simply tell the people that we are missionaries and then ask if we can come in and offer a prayer for their family. It's amazing, but 50-75% of the time it works and we get in! It's still weird to walk into the home of a complete stranger and start talking to them like you've known them forever, but the people here have the gift of gab, so all we have to do is ask a good question and then they'll start talking (sometimes so much we can't get them to stop)! However, I read a great quote in Preach My Gospel that helps me to feel less weird. "Missionary work is but home teaching to those who are not now members of the Church, and home teaching is nothing more or less than missionary work to Church members." Basically, I am a full-time visting teacher right now! Thinking of missionary work like visiting teaching somehow makes it seem less scary. These people are just normal people, with normal families, with normal lives and challenges, and the same need to be nurished by the word of God. Likewise, when we switch it around and remember, 'every member a missionary' it's easy to see that Home Teaching and Visiting teaching truly are magnificent ways that members can be missionaries. Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching are so essential to this Gospel! We don't need to make our HT or VT into some huge, complicated project; simply serve and simply love. We all need to be constantly lifted and encouraged by the word of God and by the testimonies of others. When we sacrifice just a small portion of our time to serve others the blessings we receive will be far greater than the blessings we impart to others.
During lunch with some members, the wife commented on how strong I looked and then the husband told my companion that she had better be careful. I replied that I wouldn't kill a fly. The wife looked at me and said, "you wouldn't have to kill the fly, it'd die of fright first!" hahaha! As with most things in my life, I don't like to do things at a 'normal level'; the more adrenaline, the better! Of course, a mission has it's limits, but I've figured out how to take a normal street contact to the next level of excitement! A normal street contact consists of talking about the person's family, the Book of Mormon, and the living prophets. Preach My Gospel suggested that we can make a street contact using any principle of the Gospel and than refer it quickly back to the Restoration in some way. I decided that I wanted to try making a street contact using the word of wisdom. Here is how it went...my companion and I were walking down the street and I saw a man who was smoking approaching us. I thought to myself, 'now here is someone who could really benefit from the principles found within the word of wisdom.' We approached him and I said, "Hello, we're missionaries and we teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that was restored throught a living prophet. One of the truths that we received through this prophet is called the Word of Wisdom, which teaches us how we can take care of our bodies. What things are you doing now to keep your body healthy?" (at this point I'm sweating buckets and the adrenaline is pumping) He said something about exercising (I think) and then I replied, "perfect, that is good for your body, but we also need to not drink, do drugs, drink coffee, and not smoke" (at this point I gestured to his cigarette that he was holding and become even slightly more nervous, but continued to smile confidently at him). He replied that he knew smoking was bad for him and that he had tried to stop, but that it was difficult. We asked him if he still had the desire to stop and that we would be willing to help him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the desire to stop...but we did our part. Besides street contacts, we also 'bate porta', which is either clapping at someone's gate in front of their house or ringing their buzzer/intercome on the outside of their gate. The Elder's in our district told us to simply tell the people that we are missionaries and then ask if we can come in and offer a prayer for their family. It's amazing, but 50-75% of the time it works and we get in! It's still weird to walk into the home of a complete stranger and start talking to them like you've known them forever, but the people here have the gift of gab, so all we have to do is ask a good question and then they'll start talking (sometimes so much we can't get them to stop)! However, I read a great quote in Preach My Gospel that helps me to feel less weird. "Missionary work is but home teaching to those who are not now members of the Church, and home teaching is nothing more or less than missionary work to Church members." Basically, I am a full-time visting teacher right now! Thinking of missionary work like visiting teaching somehow makes it seem less scary. These people are just normal people, with normal families, with normal lives and challenges, and the same need to be nurished by the word of God. Likewise, when we switch it around and remember, 'every member a missionary' it's easy to see that Home Teaching and Visiting teaching truly are magnificent ways that members can be missionaries. Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching are so essential to this Gospel! We don't need to make our HT or VT into some huge, complicated project; simply serve and simply love. We all need to be constantly lifted and encouraged by the word of God and by the testimonies of others. When we sacrifice just a small portion of our time to serve others the blessings we receive will be far greater than the blessings we impart to others.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Painter
As my sister Janette mentioned in one of her
letters, a mission is 90% awkward and 10% miracle. Hahahaha! I have
never said so many prayers on the street with strangers before in my
life! One day, we were saying a prayer with a man and his neighbor yelled
out, 'bon dia'. Right in the middle of our prayer the guy yelled back,
'bon dia, tudo bem!?' haha! Another time, we were teaching a family and
after our lesson we invited the father to say the prayer. While he was
praying, his mother and sister started making suggestions for things he should
pray for. It was a fun little group prayer, everyone contributing!
heehee! Oh gosh, you gotta love the awkwardness.
Sunday is certainly a 'day of rest' for the Brazilians. Everyone is sitting outside or lounging in hammocks with the best chillin', beach party music (think Colbie Calliet 'Brighter than the Sun' type of music) blaring from their houses or cars! It takes all the self-control that I have to not grab my own hammock and enjoy the Sunday afternoon under the sun! After a lunch of rice, beans, spaghetti, and some sort of casserole or potato salad it's hard to stay awake in those first few hours in the afternoon. (but I'm grateful that I have the whole rest of the day to walk off the calories!)
Saturday night my companion and I witness the 10% part of a mission that's a miracle! All week long, we had endured rejections, false addresses, and no progressing investigators. It was 6:00 at night and we were walking through a neighborhood where we had spoken to a guy who was a painter for a family who lived there. We had give the guy a pamphlet about the restoration and had come back once to see if we could teach him, but since he didn't actually live at the house, it was kind of difficult. As we walked by the house, my companion and I decided to try talking to him one more time. We buzzed the intercom and a woman's voice asked us what we wanted. We replied that we were looking for José. After a few moments, the metal gate slid open and the light from the garage flooded out onto the street. Standing in the driveway was a very elderly woman. We introduced ourselves and asked again if José was there. She simply replied, 'come closer'. My companion and I stepped through the entryway and approached the woman. She then motioned for us to come into her house. As we sat down, she began to tell us that she had been reading her scriptures and praying when we rang the bell. She then got chocked up and started to cry. She related to us that her husband had passed away some years ago, and she missed him immensely. I looked into her eyes and bore my testimony that I knew she would be able to see her husband again and that she would live with him and her family again one day. As I bore my testimony, I could feel the spirit so strongly I almost started to cry. The elderly woman got up after I finished talking and walked back to her room. When she returned, she was holding the pamphlet about the Restoration that we had given the painter who works in her home! She told us that she had read the pamphlet and believed that it was true! We didn't have a lot of time to visit with her because we had another appointment at 7:00, but we briefly reviewed the pamphlet with her, invited her to come to church the next day, and committed her to be baptized! It was incredible! As we left her home, I thought back on the night when we had first contacted the painter. He was the only man in the street, and I almost passed him by, but felt that I should stop and talk to him. When I learned that he didn't even live in that house I didn't understand why I would've felt the need to stop and talk to him when we would probably never have the chance to teach him. Yet, now I could look back on all those tiny steps and see how the Lord was preparing the way for this elderly woman to receive the Gospel! I want to bear testimony that I KNOW our Heavenly Father is in control! When your life feels like all you're doing is sporadically slopping paint onto a canvas with no purpose or direction, remember who is guiding the paint to fall exactly where it should. 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.' God in all His infinite power cares for and nurtures even such an infinitesimal creation as the lilies of the field -- How much more do you think that He cares for you and guides your life, you who are His child! As a friend of mine said, 'you can't see the whole picture now, and every brush stroke you make may seem dull and worthless, but be not weary in well doing, for you are laying the foundation of a great work!'
Sunday is certainly a 'day of rest' for the Brazilians. Everyone is sitting outside or lounging in hammocks with the best chillin', beach party music (think Colbie Calliet 'Brighter than the Sun' type of music) blaring from their houses or cars! It takes all the self-control that I have to not grab my own hammock and enjoy the Sunday afternoon under the sun! After a lunch of rice, beans, spaghetti, and some sort of casserole or potato salad it's hard to stay awake in those first few hours in the afternoon. (but I'm grateful that I have the whole rest of the day to walk off the calories!)
Saturday night my companion and I witness the 10% part of a mission that's a miracle! All week long, we had endured rejections, false addresses, and no progressing investigators. It was 6:00 at night and we were walking through a neighborhood where we had spoken to a guy who was a painter for a family who lived there. We had give the guy a pamphlet about the restoration and had come back once to see if we could teach him, but since he didn't actually live at the house, it was kind of difficult. As we walked by the house, my companion and I decided to try talking to him one more time. We buzzed the intercom and a woman's voice asked us what we wanted. We replied that we were looking for José. After a few moments, the metal gate slid open and the light from the garage flooded out onto the street. Standing in the driveway was a very elderly woman. We introduced ourselves and asked again if José was there. She simply replied, 'come closer'. My companion and I stepped through the entryway and approached the woman. She then motioned for us to come into her house. As we sat down, she began to tell us that she had been reading her scriptures and praying when we rang the bell. She then got chocked up and started to cry. She related to us that her husband had passed away some years ago, and she missed him immensely. I looked into her eyes and bore my testimony that I knew she would be able to see her husband again and that she would live with him and her family again one day. As I bore my testimony, I could feel the spirit so strongly I almost started to cry. The elderly woman got up after I finished talking and walked back to her room. When she returned, she was holding the pamphlet about the Restoration that we had given the painter who works in her home! She told us that she had read the pamphlet and believed that it was true! We didn't have a lot of time to visit with her because we had another appointment at 7:00, but we briefly reviewed the pamphlet with her, invited her to come to church the next day, and committed her to be baptized! It was incredible! As we left her home, I thought back on the night when we had first contacted the painter. He was the only man in the street, and I almost passed him by, but felt that I should stop and talk to him. When I learned that he didn't even live in that house I didn't understand why I would've felt the need to stop and talk to him when we would probably never have the chance to teach him. Yet, now I could look back on all those tiny steps and see how the Lord was preparing the way for this elderly woman to receive the Gospel! I want to bear testimony that I KNOW our Heavenly Father is in control! When your life feels like all you're doing is sporadically slopping paint onto a canvas with no purpose or direction, remember who is guiding the paint to fall exactly where it should. 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.' God in all His infinite power cares for and nurtures even such an infinitesimal creation as the lilies of the field -- How much more do you think that He cares for you and guides your life, you who are His child! As a friend of mine said, 'you can't see the whole picture now, and every brush stroke you make may seem dull and worthless, but be not weary in well doing, for you are laying the foundation of a great work!'
Monday, May 28, 2012
Chocolate Chip Cookies
We must have entered the 'wet' season because this
past week it has rained a lot! One particular night, my companion and I
had just finished teaching a lesson to a family who couldn't see how the Gospel
could bless their lives. None of us could feel the spirit - my companion
was trying to prove to them that they needed to be baptized by someone who had
authority, they were trying to prove to us that their pastor did have
authority, and I was trying to follow the conversation as best as I could to
try and bear my testimony and bring back the spirit. Nothing ever was
resolved and we ended the lesson on what little of a good note we could and
headed out into the night. As soon as we hit the streets, it began to rain...and
then to pour! I hadn't brought my umbrella with me, so my companion
suggested that we stand under an overhanging for awhile. It was 8:30, I was frustrated, tired, and
anxious to be back in our apartment, so after staring out at the pouring rain
for a couple minutes I turned to my companion and said, "let’s
go" She protested and said that I would get soaked. I replied,
"I'd rather walk for thirty minutes in pouring rain, tramp through puddles
up to my ankles in the streets, and be completely soaked when I get back to the
apartment than not be able to understand what people say or preach the Gospel
message that I love!" heehee! Needless to say, we walked home in the rain!
The next day, it was raining again and we had an appointment with a 14 year-old boy who my companion thought we should cut. I didn't feel much like going out, but fought back my selfish desires and prayed for the spirit to be with me. When we entered the home of the boy, rain was dripping through a couple places in the roof. My companion and I were sitting on two little stools in a very narrow entryway. The boy sat behind a table that was in the same entryway. He stared at his feet and didn't say much. To be honest, I can't even remember all that I said or the questions I asked, but I can say that I know without a doubt in my mind that the spirit was in that little entryway, and the spirit taught that 14-year old boy what he needed to hear that rainy morning. It wasn't me who was speaking, it was the spirit. I didn't say anything profound, I didn't use a lot of new words that I had never used before, and nothing was extremely spectacular or different, but I could feel the spirit using what small capacities I had to bless this boy and bring him closer to embracing the fullness of the Gospel. The difference between the night before and this morning were incredible! This truly is the Lord's work, and when we have His spirit with us we will be able to accomplish miracles in the lives of those people who we teach.
This past week I received a letter from a good friend who shared with me this quote, "The difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." My mission sure as a lot of opportunities! Sometimes I look ahead at the type of missionary I want to be and the type of missionary I know I can be, and I want to achieve that vision without going through the process in the middle. It's a lot like a chocolate chip cookie! A bag of chocolate chips has the potential to be turned into a delicious chocolate chip cookie, but there are a lot of steps that need to happen in the middle before the cookie is produced - there needs to be mixing, adding ingredients, rolling, baking, scraping, and a baby bit of cooling before the final product of a heavenly Chocolate chip cookie is produced! The same thing occurs in our life. We each are trying to become better people, more faithful, more obedient, more like our Savior. At times we become frustrated that we know who we can become, but yet still seem to be a simple chocolate chip. But, we can't become discouraged when we are still only a chocolate chip with a little flour, egg, and sugar...life is a process! It's going to take a lot of steps to get us to where we want to be, but as long as we're still adding ingredients, mixing, and continuing through with this process, we will eventually receive our deepest desires, we will eventually become the people our Heavenly knows we can become (a chocolate chip cookie kind of a person!) "The task before us is never as great as the power behind us!"
THANK YOU everyone who has sent me letters of encouragement and support! Letters, chocolate, almoço with members, and açaí are what keep me mixing my cookie batter here in the mission, continually working toward my chocolate chip cookie! Mail may take forever, but I promise that I will reply!! But know that I do receive your letters and I LOVE every single one!! Thank you!!!
The next day, it was raining again and we had an appointment with a 14 year-old boy who my companion thought we should cut. I didn't feel much like going out, but fought back my selfish desires and prayed for the spirit to be with me. When we entered the home of the boy, rain was dripping through a couple places in the roof. My companion and I were sitting on two little stools in a very narrow entryway. The boy sat behind a table that was in the same entryway. He stared at his feet and didn't say much. To be honest, I can't even remember all that I said or the questions I asked, but I can say that I know without a doubt in my mind that the spirit was in that little entryway, and the spirit taught that 14-year old boy what he needed to hear that rainy morning. It wasn't me who was speaking, it was the spirit. I didn't say anything profound, I didn't use a lot of new words that I had never used before, and nothing was extremely spectacular or different, but I could feel the spirit using what small capacities I had to bless this boy and bring him closer to embracing the fullness of the Gospel. The difference between the night before and this morning were incredible! This truly is the Lord's work, and when we have His spirit with us we will be able to accomplish miracles in the lives of those people who we teach.
This past week I received a letter from a good friend who shared with me this quote, "The difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." My mission sure as a lot of opportunities! Sometimes I look ahead at the type of missionary I want to be and the type of missionary I know I can be, and I want to achieve that vision without going through the process in the middle. It's a lot like a chocolate chip cookie! A bag of chocolate chips has the potential to be turned into a delicious chocolate chip cookie, but there are a lot of steps that need to happen in the middle before the cookie is produced - there needs to be mixing, adding ingredients, rolling, baking, scraping, and a baby bit of cooling before the final product of a heavenly Chocolate chip cookie is produced! The same thing occurs in our life. We each are trying to become better people, more faithful, more obedient, more like our Savior. At times we become frustrated that we know who we can become, but yet still seem to be a simple chocolate chip. But, we can't become discouraged when we are still only a chocolate chip with a little flour, egg, and sugar...life is a process! It's going to take a lot of steps to get us to where we want to be, but as long as we're still adding ingredients, mixing, and continuing through with this process, we will eventually receive our deepest desires, we will eventually become the people our Heavenly knows we can become (a chocolate chip cookie kind of a person!) "The task before us is never as great as the power behind us!"
THANK YOU everyone who has sent me letters of encouragement and support! Letters, chocolate, almoço with members, and açaí are what keep me mixing my cookie batter here in the mission, continually working toward my chocolate chip cookie! Mail may take forever, but I promise that I will reply!! But know that I do receive your letters and I LOVE every single one!! Thank you!!!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Backpacking and Missions
The first week in the
mission field was everything I had expected it to be, but at the same time
nothing like I had every imagined. I know, that does not make any sense,
but that is exactly how I feel about it. When certain things would happen
to me, I would remember hearing mission stories from other people who had
experienced the same thing, but at the same time I would think, "no one
ever told me about this!" or "no one every told me that I would feel
like this!!" Hahaha ;) oh missions, they are hard to describe
I guess, but I will give it a try right now. A mission is just like
backpacking! (This is why everyone should go backpacking -- backpacking
can relate to everything you do in your life!) Everyday, I am sweaty,
smelly, dirty, tired, and hungry. My environment is not exactly what I am
used to and takes a baby bit of time to adapt. Everything feels like it
is uphill and my favorite parts of the day are sleeping and eating! Every
night, I go to bed exhausted, but content; and every morning I wake up, look at
my 'pack', and wonder how in the world I can shoulder it once more and do
it all over again! Yet, with a smile on my face, a prayer in my
heart, and the eternal perspective of my purpose firmly fixed in my head, I
head out the door and hit the cobblestone streets determined to fulfill my
purpose as a missionary, to bring souls unto Christ! If I every get the
opportunity to teach a mission prep class in the future, you can be sure
that it will include a two-week backpacking trip!
My first morning in the
field, I woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing. At first,
I thought it was someone's alarm clock because in my half asleep mind I
remembered the guy in the movie 'Rio' who had a rooster crowing as his ring
tone on his phone. I kept wondering why nobody was waking up
to turn off the annoying crowing rooster! heehee
Since my companion already
served in this area for five weeks, she had a few progressing
investigators. I have been able to help teach each of them one
lesson. Even though I can't speak much, and can understand even
less, I can feel the spirit that they have and their sincere desires to learn
more. As I look into their eyes, I can see future YM leaders, future
Bishops, future Relief Society presidents, and future mothers and fathers who
will raise righteous families unto the Lord! It's amazing the love I feel
for these people, and the earnest desires I have to truly understand their
concerns and questions so that I can more fully help them grow in the
Gospel and develop a firm testimony of the truths that we are teaching
them.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Another Beginning
Tuesday morning, I was the old dog in the CTM, familiar with schedule
and comfortable with the everyday routine. By Tuesday night, I was the
smallest (pretty terrified) little ant in João Pessoa! This transition
began at 5:30 am when 13 other missionaries and I rode to the São Paulo
airport and flew to Brasília. I had brought a Portuguese Book of Mormon
with me, but on the first flight I never mustered up the courage to
talk to my seat mates (and to be honest none of us probably wanted to
talk that early in the morning anyway). On the second flight from
Brasília to João Pessoa I started a conversation with the woman sitting
next to me. I am sure that I sounded ridiculous, but she could
understand me and I could barely understand her. Talking with people is
exactly like playing a sport - it is always better to be on the
offensive! I have more success understanding a Brazilian when I am the
one who first starts the conversation and keep it in the few subjects
that I know how to talk about; families, where they are going, what they
are doing, and the Gospel! As we were getting off the plane, I pulled
out my Book of Mormon and told the woman that I would like to give it to
her. I explained to her how much it meant to me and that I knew it
would only add to her happiness and testimony of Jesus Christ! Whether
she actually wanted it or whether she just felt simpathetic toward me
and my poor Portuguese, I do not know, but she happily accepted my
offer!!
We exited the plane right onto the runway and then walked back into the aiport to pick up our bags. I was instantly engulfed by a heavy wave of heat as I emerged from the plane. It felt just like good ´ol PA on an August afternoon! As all of us missionaries walked into the airport we looked up at one of the windows and saw Sister Hall and some Elders excitedly waving at us! It was tender, and almost felt like we had family there to pick us up. João Pessoa is very different than São Paulo. It is much more clean, much more beautiful, and not as overwhelmingly huge! We first went to the chapel to have some training and meet our new companions! Sister Tia Hinderliter from PA was one of the Sister missioanries who met us at the chapel! She was Erika Dillers companion in the CTM! It was fun to finally get to meet her and talk about how much we both loved Erika! When President Hall announced our companionships, all of the Sisters were sitting beside their companions...this was incredible because there were four new Sisters and four trainers, and none of us knew who are companions were going to be!! Its just a Sister thing, ya know! My trainer is Sister Araújo. Out of the four trainers, three were American and one, Sister Araújo, was Brazilian. Even though I know it will be difficult, I am so grateful to have a Brazilian compaion. I prayed to be blessed to learn Portuguese quickly...and I am certain Sister Araújo is the answer to my prayer. I can already tell that she is going to be an amazing trainer for me! All of the new missioanries and their companions ate dinner at the Mission home with President and Sister Hall. It was kind of strange becasue everyone was speaking Portuguese, even the American missioanries (naturally), so even though I was not the only American I still felt somewhat out of the loop. Sister Hall would be explaining something to the Sisters and then ask me a question and I would look at her and smile becasue I had no idea what was going on...I can understand the gist of a conversation but not everything. The Sisters all slept in the Mission home and the Elders left to spend the night in another apartment nearby. Sister Araújo and I went over our plans for the next day. We would travel to our assigned area, Natal (the southern part of the city), in the morning, get things put away in our apartment (do P-day activities), and then at 6:00 we would have a teaching appointment! In fact, Sister Araújo had four teaching apointments scheduled!
I have learned a lot in the CTM. I have learned how to speak a little Portuguese, I have learned to get along with my companion and a variety of other people and personalities, I have learned how to teach and how to contact people, I have learned to be humble, I have learned to love the scriptures even more than I already do, I have learned to pray with all the sincerity of my heart, and I have learned to trust the Lord with every fiber of my being - to trust that although I am weak He is strong, although I am afraid he can make me brave, although I have never done anything like this before in my life He will bless me to be able to wake up each day, to put one foot in front of the other, to speak the words that He would have me say, and to develop an overpowering love for these people and this great work.
We exited the plane right onto the runway and then walked back into the aiport to pick up our bags. I was instantly engulfed by a heavy wave of heat as I emerged from the plane. It felt just like good ´ol PA on an August afternoon! As all of us missionaries walked into the airport we looked up at one of the windows and saw Sister Hall and some Elders excitedly waving at us! It was tender, and almost felt like we had family there to pick us up. João Pessoa is very different than São Paulo. It is much more clean, much more beautiful, and not as overwhelmingly huge! We first went to the chapel to have some training and meet our new companions! Sister Tia Hinderliter from PA was one of the Sister missioanries who met us at the chapel! She was Erika Dillers companion in the CTM! It was fun to finally get to meet her and talk about how much we both loved Erika! When President Hall announced our companionships, all of the Sisters were sitting beside their companions...this was incredible because there were four new Sisters and four trainers, and none of us knew who are companions were going to be!! Its just a Sister thing, ya know! My trainer is Sister Araújo. Out of the four trainers, three were American and one, Sister Araújo, was Brazilian. Even though I know it will be difficult, I am so grateful to have a Brazilian compaion. I prayed to be blessed to learn Portuguese quickly...and I am certain Sister Araújo is the answer to my prayer. I can already tell that she is going to be an amazing trainer for me! All of the new missioanries and their companions ate dinner at the Mission home with President and Sister Hall. It was kind of strange becasue everyone was speaking Portuguese, even the American missioanries (naturally), so even though I was not the only American I still felt somewhat out of the loop. Sister Hall would be explaining something to the Sisters and then ask me a question and I would look at her and smile becasue I had no idea what was going on...I can understand the gist of a conversation but not everything. The Sisters all slept in the Mission home and the Elders left to spend the night in another apartment nearby. Sister Araújo and I went over our plans for the next day. We would travel to our assigned area, Natal (the southern part of the city), in the morning, get things put away in our apartment (do P-day activities), and then at 6:00 we would have a teaching appointment! In fact, Sister Araújo had four teaching apointments scheduled!
I have learned a lot in the CTM. I have learned how to speak a little Portuguese, I have learned to get along with my companion and a variety of other people and personalities, I have learned how to teach and how to contact people, I have learned to be humble, I have learned to love the scriptures even more than I already do, I have learned to pray with all the sincerity of my heart, and I have learned to trust the Lord with every fiber of my being - to trust that although I am weak He is strong, although I am afraid he can make me brave, although I have never done anything like this before in my life He will bless me to be able to wake up each day, to put one foot in front of the other, to speak the words that He would have me say, and to develop an overpowering love for these people and this great work.
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