It's always a glorious Sunday when our
investigators actually come to Church! Two Sundays ago we were especially
excited because the family of the little girl who asked us to help her dad stop
drinking came to Church! They seemed to really enjoy it, and right after
the meetings we marked a time with them that we could do a Family Home Evening
with their family. However, when we showed up Monday night they informed
us that they liked the Church, but that they didn't want to have to commit to
go every Sunday. The rest of their family was Catholic and they just
didn't want to fight to attend church every week and to keep the
commandments. They knew that they would have to change a lot of things in
their life, and they didn't want to put in the effort. They begged us to
understand them and to not be mad with them. With complete sincerity, I
looked them in the eyes and said, 'We're not mad, we'd never be mad, but we are
extremely sad because we know that this Gospel will bless your lives, and you
don't want to accept it.' I can't even begin to describe that feeling of
sadness I had, to see choice children of God reject the blessings of the Gospel
simply because they didn't want to work for it. It made me think of a
friend of mine who was a convert to the Gospel. When I asked him to tell
me his conversion story he told me that he literally had to fight for
everything he has in the Gospel today. Whether you are a convert or a
life-long member we always have to be fighting for the Gospel. Do you
think family prayer, FHE, personal scripture study, temple attendence, church
callings, etc are easy? NO! Of course not, but they're worth it; they're
worth the fight!! Who's on the Lord's side who?...Let's you and me stand
with the Lord; let's be on His side; because I can promise you, it'll always be
the winning side!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Cows, Dirt Roads, and Lunch!
It's hard to tell sometimes where the fields end
and the city begins. My companion and I will be walking to an
investigator's house or to the Chapel and a couple of cows, or pigs, or goats
will cross the street in front of us or walk past us heading into town
(probably to do their weekly shopping)...we just give them a 'bom dia' and
continue on our way!
Traveling to the member's houses for lunch is usually only a 15-20 minute walk. However, this past week we had a 45 minute bus ride on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere until we finally arrived in a much smaller town where the member lived. I tried reading letters on the bus, but all the pot holes in the dirt road kept me more focused on not throwing up then on reading. As one companion told me, 'who needs roller coasters when you've got buses in Brazil!'
I've developed a tactic for eating at member's home so that I can avoid being compelled to eat more than my stomach can handle. I dish up what I want to eat, and then eat as slowly as I can, pausing between every bite to ask questions. It usually works pretty well even though I have to eat one medium size plate of food in the same amount of time that the Elders eat two or three huge, heaping plates of food (this is truly the hard part...). At one member's home I had finished eating and the Irmã looked at my empty plate and asked, 'já parou? porque?' (You've already stopped eating? Why?) Thank goodness we have two Elders to make up for what we Sisters don't eat.
A very common dish in Brazil is Feijão Preto (or black beans cooked with just about every part of the cow or pig). There is always rice, pasta, lettuce, and sometimes couscous to go along with the Feijão. You pile everything on your plate, all mixed together, and then eat. It's pretty much fantastic! The only slightly adventurous aspect of eating like this is that you can never be quite sure if you'll eat something that probably shouldn't be eaten...*picture this* Everyone is sitting around the table, four missionaries conversing with an Irmão and Irmã, members in the Branch. I'm happily eating, listening to the conversation and commenting every once in awhile between bites. Then, I put a fork full of rice, beans, pasta, and lettuce in my mouth. I bite down. Instead of the usual, normal texture that I'm used to, I bite down on something a little gristly, something that my mouth certainly doesn't want to keep chewing. I look around at everyone sitting at the table. Everyone is oblivious to my unpleasant discovering. I look across the table at one of the Elders and he notices the look of terror in my face, but can't do anything to help me out. Instead, he only gives me an encouraging smile and tries not to laugh. After glancing around the table a couple more times to make sure the coast is clear, I slying spit out the foreign object and conceal it on my plate! Whew! No one saw that...or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself! heehee!
This past Sunday, my Mission President visited the Branch in Guarabira. He spoke about the parable of the rice man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to be saved in the kingdom of God. When Jesus replied that he needed to keep the commandments the rice man confirmed that he already did this. Then, Jesus told him, 'one thing thou lackest'. Each of us are like this rich man. We are each striving to keep the commandments and follow our Savior. Yet, we each have the favorite sin, that one thing that we hold back. We need to have faith in the Lord that when we truly give up all that we have to Him, He will bless us in ways that we can't even imagine!!
Traveling to the member's houses for lunch is usually only a 15-20 minute walk. However, this past week we had a 45 minute bus ride on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere until we finally arrived in a much smaller town where the member lived. I tried reading letters on the bus, but all the pot holes in the dirt road kept me more focused on not throwing up then on reading. As one companion told me, 'who needs roller coasters when you've got buses in Brazil!'
I've developed a tactic for eating at member's home so that I can avoid being compelled to eat more than my stomach can handle. I dish up what I want to eat, and then eat as slowly as I can, pausing between every bite to ask questions. It usually works pretty well even though I have to eat one medium size plate of food in the same amount of time that the Elders eat two or three huge, heaping plates of food (this is truly the hard part...). At one member's home I had finished eating and the Irmã looked at my empty plate and asked, 'já parou? porque?' (You've already stopped eating? Why?) Thank goodness we have two Elders to make up for what we Sisters don't eat.
A very common dish in Brazil is Feijão Preto (or black beans cooked with just about every part of the cow or pig). There is always rice, pasta, lettuce, and sometimes couscous to go along with the Feijão. You pile everything on your plate, all mixed together, and then eat. It's pretty much fantastic! The only slightly adventurous aspect of eating like this is that you can never be quite sure if you'll eat something that probably shouldn't be eaten...*picture this* Everyone is sitting around the table, four missionaries conversing with an Irmão and Irmã, members in the Branch. I'm happily eating, listening to the conversation and commenting every once in awhile between bites. Then, I put a fork full of rice, beans, pasta, and lettuce in my mouth. I bite down. Instead of the usual, normal texture that I'm used to, I bite down on something a little gristly, something that my mouth certainly doesn't want to keep chewing. I look around at everyone sitting at the table. Everyone is oblivious to my unpleasant discovering. I look across the table at one of the Elders and he notices the look of terror in my face, but can't do anything to help me out. Instead, he only gives me an encouraging smile and tries not to laugh. After glancing around the table a couple more times to make sure the coast is clear, I slying spit out the foreign object and conceal it on my plate! Whew! No one saw that...or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself! heehee!
This past Sunday, my Mission President visited the Branch in Guarabira. He spoke about the parable of the rice man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to be saved in the kingdom of God. When Jesus replied that he needed to keep the commandments the rice man confirmed that he already did this. Then, Jesus told him, 'one thing thou lackest'. Each of us are like this rich man. We are each striving to keep the commandments and follow our Savior. Yet, we each have the favorite sin, that one thing that we hold back. We need to have faith in the Lord that when we truly give up all that we have to Him, He will bless us in ways that we can't even imagine!!
Monday, July 9, 2012
July 9, 2012
It was about 8:00 at night and my companion and I
were selecting the last few houses we wanted to knock before heading back to
our apartment. Looking down a little allyway off the main street we saw a
quaint house all lit up. As we approached the house, we noticed a couple
things. First, alongside the house was another allyway, but much smaller
and much darker. Second, there was a plaque on the house that said,
'pequeno covento'. I pointed to the plaque and kind of laughed, thinking
that this was an extremely Catholic home or something like that. Without
putting much more thought about the strange plaque, I clapped my hands at the
door to get someone's attention inside. Imagine our surprise when a nun
came walking out of the kitchen to answer the door! hahaha :) My
companion and I just looked at each other and said, 'ohhhh...so that's what
'pequeno covento' means...'! The nun answered the door, and I did some
quick thinking and starting a conversation with her just talking about how we
were missionaries here in Guarabira and did she know anyone that we could
visit. We had a pleasant little conversation about how much the people of
Guarabira needed Jesus Christ in their lives, and then the Nun told us that she
could give us one piece of advice. She pointed to the dark allyway that
passed along the side of her house and proceeded to tell us that we should
never go down that allyway. As my companion and I walked away from the
'pequeno covento', my companion turned to me and said, 'before we knocked on
the nun's door I wanted to walk down that allyway...' The Lord's always
looking out for us, even if it's through a Catholic nun!!
Last night, my companion and I stopped at the home of a family who we had made a contact with earlier in the week. The grandmother, daughter (40), son (35), and daughter of the son (10-12) were present. We taught a simple lesson about the importance of batism and invited the family to prepare to be baptized. The family wasn't super receptive, but they said that they would be willing to come to church one Sunday and learn more about the Gospel. It was just a normal lesson with the normal responses. However, at the end of the lesson my companion asked if there was anything that we could do to help the family. The adults shook their heads, but the young daughter timidly raised her hand to draw our attention to her, and said, 'I have something that you can do.' Then, with a slight crack in her voice she continued, 'Can you please help my father stop drinking?' I looked into this young girls eyes and could see the enormous amount of faith that she had in us - she truly believed that we could help her father. I've never helped anyone overcome something as difficult as drinking, but I'm not about to let this little girl down. My companion and I won't leave Guarabira without doing everything in our power to help this father stop drinking and to bring the the blessings of the Gospel into this family!
Last night, my companion and I stopped at the home of a family who we had made a contact with earlier in the week. The grandmother, daughter (40), son (35), and daughter of the son (10-12) were present. We taught a simple lesson about the importance of batism and invited the family to prepare to be baptized. The family wasn't super receptive, but they said that they would be willing to come to church one Sunday and learn more about the Gospel. It was just a normal lesson with the normal responses. However, at the end of the lesson my companion asked if there was anything that we could do to help the family. The adults shook their heads, but the young daughter timidly raised her hand to draw our attention to her, and said, 'I have something that you can do.' Then, with a slight crack in her voice she continued, 'Can you please help my father stop drinking?' I looked into this young girls eyes and could see the enormous amount of faith that she had in us - she truly believed that we could help her father. I've never helped anyone overcome something as difficult as drinking, but I'm not about to let this little girl down. My companion and I won't leave Guarabira without doing everything in our power to help this father stop drinking and to bring the the blessings of the Gospel into this family!
With my
interaction everyday with a wide variety of people, members, less actives, and
people of other religions, I see more and more clearly how Satan works in our
lives to destroy us and our families. In 2 Nephi 28:20-22 it says, 'For
behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and
stir them up to anger against that which is good. And others will he
pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: all is
well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well - and thus
the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to
hell. And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no
hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none - and thus he
whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from
whence there is no deliverance.' Satan is tricky. He uses a variety
of different methods to pull us away from the things that will truly bring us
happiness and eternal life. And for this reason the Lord has warned us,
'wo be unto him that is at ease ini Zion!...watch and pray always, lest ye
be tempted by the devil and ye be led away captive by him.' The Gospel
isn't just a 'to do' list of 'fun suggestions' or 'good ideas'. The
Gospel is our protection! The Gospel is the ONLY way that we can defend ourselves
and our families from Satan's influence. Family pray, daily scripture
study as a family and personally, FHE, visiting teaching, home teaching,
attending church meetings, living worthy and honoring our covenants, obeying
the commandments (tithing, word of wisdom, the law of chastity, etc) -- these
are the things that will truly protect us. We can't afford to make
excuses to not do these things. Instead, we need to make excuses TO DO
them!! This Gospel is true! When we live the principles of the
Gospel we will have true happiness in our own lives and in our families.
And one day, if we remain faithful and endure to the end, we will receive
eternal life! This Gospel is glorious!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Guarabira
In Natal I
would occassionally be questioned about my nationality or someone might comment
on how strong my accent was, but for the most part people didn't feel the need
to state the obvious...not so in Guarabira. My companion and I will enter
a home and someone goes running to invite the whole family to come see the two
Americans that are in their home. Everyone wants to talk to us, touch us,
and wave at us! hahaha! I feel like such a rare gem here in Guarabira and
that's even with basically no make up, unattractive sandals, simple hairstyle
(up and out of my face), and sweating like I just sat in a sauna for 10
minutes! The city of Guarabira is
about as big as Shippensburg (mais ou menos); small enough that people in the
market know who we are and ask about where 'the other sister' went.
Friday night was some kind of festa (in reality where there's a Brazilian
there's a festa!) and everybody had a bonfire lit in front of their house
roasting corn on the cob or just sitting there watching as their children shot
off fireworks and other explosives! Sometime, just for fun, turn on some
crazy, upbeat music really loud, add fireworks and other explosives going off
in the background, then throw in some yelling children and drunk men, finally
turn on a smoke machine to blind your eyes, AND then try and share a message
about the Gospel with someone! I always had this perfect image in my mind
of what a mission would be like - sitting in someone's living room, no
distractions, the spirit's strong and the person is attentive and can feel the
spirit too, we teach our lesson, ask questions, answer questions, and then
leave the house feeling like we're walking on sunshine! - HA! and yet the
Gospel still goes forth! No unhallowed hand can stop this great work (and
that includes fireworks, festas, yelling children, and bonfires)! This
Gospel is true and every man, woman, and child will have the opportunity to
hear and accept the Gospel. I love missionary work! It's repetitive,
it's exhausting, it's dirty, it's dang hard, but despite all this it's the
greatest privilege to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, to watch as He
guides my companion and I to reach out to His children and to bless their
lives. There really is no other greater work on the face of this earth
than this; to bring souls unto Christ!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Transfers!
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!
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!
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!
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