10-28-13

First my address;

Sister Tess Huntington
R. Sao Sebastiao #1003-centro
Ribeirao Preto- SP
14015-040

NEVER Fedex packages, because of the tax. Use another source for packages. Supposedly letters only take a little over a week, so that's pretty cool. Not sure about your letter description Dad, but no haha I don't think so lol.

Oi! Tudo Bem?

Okay, holy cow I wish my fingers had super speed because I have so much to write and so little time but WOW. How can I even describe what its like? Brazil is awesome and beautiful and I love it already. I have only been here for a week but it feels much longer...except for the fact that I still hardly understand what anyone is saying. So I'm going to go in order what I'm guessing you guys will ask about.

Food: Okay, the food in Brazil is just plain better, no matter how you slice it. Seriously, Oh me oh my. You guys really will have to roll me off the plane. Luckily, we walk ALOT at least. Tortas and pastels and pao de queijo and sorvette and acai and stroganoff. Holy cow. The funny thing is that I've only had beans once! The members feed us everyday and they all want to feed us like there was literally no tomorrow, but I cant even complain because its so delicious- every bite. Also, they eat.....constantly....every moment they are hungry. Everyone is ALWAYS hungry, even at ten at night right before we go to bed....but the people still aren't as fat as Americans, just very comfortably plump haha.

Okay, the language:

Well, I definitely have a lot to learn, but people keep telling me I'm speaking very well for only having a few days here. I don't know though. Its definitely one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had in my life. I am learning that I simply cannot be a perfectionist with myself here, which is not easy for me to accept..but I kind of have no other choice. I am so used to having the ability to express exactly what I mean with words, but here...I'm just grateful if I can get the basic point across. Then, I pray that they don't respond too fast. I just bear testimony of what I know and believe and hope and pray that the Holy Ghost helps them understand. Every time, I walk out wondering how it happened, but people really do understand what I say and I can see their faces soften and their hearts open up. Thank you Holy Ghost! God is literally carrying me along, more now than ever. Of course, Sister A, my comp, is a gift from God as well. She is so patient and helpful and keeps my spirits up when I feel like a total idiot...which happens on a daily basis haha. I can speak, and supposedly I can bear testimony powerfully (yet again, thanks to the Spirit) but when it comes to understanding....mia nossa! I just literally pray that I can catch a few words...then I look to Sister A and she explains what they said. I can understand her accent quite easily, but apparently since we live in a more rural area, the people here have a hick accents. Just imagine someone coming from Brazil and trying to understand some Appalachian investigators. Yeah, its coming with time though.

The people here are amazing and so friendly. I already am in LOVE with Brazil. I'm learning so much and having to rely on others a lot....which also feels really weird for me, but its probably good for me to learn. This gospel is true. I have never felt Gods influence so strong in my life. It can change hearts and improve lives in an instant. I promise God lives and loves each person. I know we all have a marvelous purpose. You are all magnificent! LOVE LOVE LOVE

Sister Huntington

BEIJOS for all!

Pictures

10-21-13

Hey everyone. so my flight is at 3 today...i think.....i haven't actually received my itinerary. Still not sure on the phone call thing but ill do my best. So, yesterday was awesome! Mike got baptized and I know he is going to do amazing from here on forward. He just has such a willing heart and glows with the Spirit! It was an amazing gift to be a part of the on my last day here. What awesome timing! Mike is so awesome. He had fasted the day before without even telling us, and we hadn't even  told him to. He doesn't drive because of a traumatic event in his childhood, but he has decided that now he wants to learn, just so that he can get to church easier and so that he can help others in the church. He is so kind. AND we had another miracle yesterday. Rod, homeless alcoholic investigator, came to our last appointment totally sober, just as he had promised. Even more, he has been only drinking every other day. that was his own goal that he set! Oh, and here is the best part. He came to church yesterday!!! It was so awesome! He got a ride from a guy who has walked in his shoes and is a recovered addict, so they really connected. Even more, he stayed for all three hours! He had to take some smoking breaks, but it is such a huge accomplishment. Rod also has a lot of social anxiety, (which is why he drinks) so he was so afraid to be at church. He kept joking that either he or the church would burst into flames, so he kept tabs on all the fire extinguishers in the building haha. Just walking into the chapel and sitting down was a huge feat for him. At first, he sat in the back with Pete. Then, when he left for a smoking break, he had a hard time going back in, but Sister H and I came out to the hall and gave him a pep talk. We stood together and prayed for strength to get through the rest of the meeting, and then Rod gave a big smile at the end of the prayer. He was a-okay for the rest of church.  I just felt so proud of both Rod and Mike yesterday. What superstars! I can't wait to see what they do with their futures. If I pretended not to be sad to leave, I would be lying. Actually, my heart is really sad right now. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW I'm meant to go to Brazil and I know it's going to be soooo amazing the moment I get there. But right at this moment, it's really hard to leave all the people I love so much. I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation that ensures I'll be able to see all my loved ones again. I'm so excited for the day when we can ALL be together in the next life and distance and location won't matter and I can embrace and take care of everyone that I have come to know and love.
This life is meant to be happy. Smile. That's my advice. Our life will never be without trials. That's a guarantee, but we don't have to simply endure them. God has given us the resources to know how to find happiness. He has given us so many gifts: scriptures, prophets, church, the Holy Ghost. These things are there for the taking and they are there for anyone willing to seek after them. God has showered us with so many blessings! It's amazing how much He can be a part of our lives if we so desire it, but we have to use these resources He has given us for them to be of any worth. It doesn't matter that the Book of Mormon is true if we never read it. It doesn't matter that we have prophets to guide us if we never listen to their voice. It doesnt matter if we WANT to believe if we are not willing to ACT, but I promise that when we do start doing the little things that add up, it will change our lives in ways we could have never imagined. God is waiting to pour blessings upon us. I always promise my investigators that, even if none of their circumstances changed, the gospel of Jesus Christ would make their whole life better and richer and happier. When we neglect our relationship with God, of course he is sad, but it is really just us that suffers. This life is meant to be a happy one, a clear one, a good one. When we draw nearer to God, everything else lines up as well, but it definitely takes a little leap of faith and trust and maybe a few sacrifices.  I love you all. I can't wait to see what Brazil has in store for me, even if my heart breaks at the thought of leaving here. Thanks for EVERYTHING and all of your support. God bless. He loves you all sooooooo much. I promise :) I can feel it, and so can you if you want to.

Love, sis Huntington

10/14/13

Hello hello hello! Isn't facebook great? I got to tell you to tell you the big news before email time haha. Sneaky right? Anyway, yeah, so Im going to Brazil!! Here's the story. It was just a normal old day , when sis H walks over to me with the phone and said it was President Francis for me. I knew what that meant, but I was somewhat in denial. So, then he told me I had my visa and would leave the 21st (which is such a blessing because Mike's baptism is the 20th!). Well, I was silent....for a long time, and President probably thought I had died, but I just couldn't talk. I was crying and all the sisters were watching me and well.....I'm really sad to leave. I've got to be honest, I'm sooooo grateful for all of your prayers for my visa, but this transfer has just been amazing and i haven't even thought about my visa since it started. I always knew that God would wait until I was completely immersed in the work and vulnerable to tear me away haha. That silly bugger. I have been working so hard and accomplishing so much, and because of that, I knew it was coming soon. I knew it, but I really wanted another transfer here. How can I explain other than just one word: Love. I have loved and learned from so may people here in ways I cannot describe. I am sooo excited for Brazil, of course....well, I know I will be, but it is very bittersweet. I know without a doubt this didn't happen by chance. I know without a doubt I was meant to be here for reasons that are honestly too sacred to explain via email, but believe me when I say that God is so perfect in the way He directs our lives. We just need to trust Him. Trust Him! and you'll never regret it. Trust him, and He won't let you down.

I thank God for the opportunity I had to serve here. I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short period of time. Wow, it truly changed my life to serve here, so I'm trying to not think about leaving. But at the same time, of course I know that this is an answer to so many prayers and I feel so blessed to receive my visa with sooo many people waiting to go. In many ways, I am speechless. I don't really know how express in words how it feels to have so much emotion that is happy and sad at the same time, but I'm just working as hard as I can so that it doesn't sit in the front of my mind. Wow, Brazil. It's still sinking in. Holy cow, you guys, I don't speak Portuguese! Ahhh, but I know the Lord has me cradled in His loving hands. He'll qualify me for whatever work needs to be done. I am nothing more than a tool for Him right now,  and I'm going to need all the help I can get. I want to share His love with everyone. That is my ultimate goal in my mission. God's timing is something we will never fully understand, so we cannot get discouraged by stats or numbers. However, love is something we can feel and know and understand in our souls, so that is how I measure my success. I can truly see in people's eyes when it really clicks and they start to believe and feel how much God loves them. If people understood only this, if everyone really truly knew it, then we could change the world, baptisms or not. Share a smile. Tell people how wonderful they are, because we are all our worst critics. Isn't it amazing how many compliments are never actually heard by the person they are directed at? Why do we save all of our praise for people when they aren't in the room? Tell them, because they aren't telling themselves. I feel it is such a privilege to tell people they have worth, and through the power of the Spirit, they are able to feel the truth of my promise. We all have worth. Let's remind one another. I might be able to do emails again on Saturday. Not sure. I also might be able to call from the airport. Not sure again. I don't know my itinerary right now at all.

Okay, I'm headed to Brazil soon. AHHHH crazy! Love you all and feeling so blessed. Remember God loves you! He does. I know it. I feel it. You are all masterpieces in His eyes, regardless of where you are in life.

sis Huntington

10-7-13

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, you are just now getting a birthday wish from me. I should have sent you a letter or card or something. I'm sorry. I'm terrible...It's just like another world here though, ya know? I've never been so busy and so focused on one purpose. Please do something fun for yourself for me okay? Or eat something yummy. I know, make something new and delicious from Pinterest and listen to Michael Buble and dance while doing it okay? Deal :) I love you guys so much. Please know that. I just love you both beyond words. I wish I could reach through the computer and hug and squeeze you both and kiss your beautiful faces! Thank you so much for being such amazing people and amazing parents. I can't tell you how full my heart becomes when I talk about you two. You each have so many talents and strengths, SO MANY. I am beginning to realize that people are soooooo hard on themselves. I thought it was just me,  and that most other people were totally awesome and knew it haha. Boy was I wrong. People are so awesome and talented and pure and beautiful, yet I have found that everyone seems to think they are just plain worthless! What is that all about?! We have got to stop degrading ourselves, because that is like saying God didn't' know what He was doing when He tried to make us. No, God doesn't make mistakes and He doesn't doesn't make anything worthless. We have infinite worth and infinite light within us. So much is hidden far too deep inside us. Something that I have been talking to another sister about is inner light. You see, we all have so much light within us, and light is everything. It is power. It is life. It is pure and it is of God. It lifts us and others and exceeds mortal and comprehensible limitations. And yet, with all it's power and influence and ability, light is very easily contained, blocked or hidden. It can travel millions of light years and literally heat an entire planet, yet all we have to do it put our hand in front of the source and we can make a shadow. Despite the potential of light, it can be blocked with very little effort, and it cannot force itself through. So, back to people, we all have light within us. In fact, most of us have far more than we even knew was possible, yet it almost seems as if we are working to keep it contained. Shame and guilt and self-defeat act as shades and curtains and boxes that block in our light, and don't allow it to shine. The scriptures tell us to "let our light so shine', and when we do this we will not only give light to others, but the light that shines through will literally change our countenance and help us to see our own worth. People are beautiful, all of them, inside and out. We need to recognize that. Christ asked us to be meek, not self-loathing. Christ was humble, yet He never denied His divine worth as the Savior of mankind and the Son of God. I think if I were to give Christ a compliment face to face, He would gratefully smile, thank me, and then tell me something good He saw in me as well. You see, let us lift one another instead of pulling our own selves down. God has never asked us to beat ourselves up and it doesn't please Him when we do. He wants us to recognize our inner worth, for we are HIS masterpiece after all. YOU are a masterpiece of infinite worth and potential. We all have light that we are hiding and blocking within ourselves. Move the curtain. Lift the shade. Let it shine and see the light within, so that you can share it with others.

Lots has happened this week. Lots. What's new right? We are keeping so busy, yet I still feel like sometimes we can't keep up! Mike, our miracle, is doing so amazing. He is the most genuinely innocent and tender person ever. He came to church and told us he wished he could stay for ten more hours. He is also a gourmet chef, and he tries to feed us every day! I literally had to tell him he wasn't allowed to sign up for every day on the missionary calender. Oh, and let me tell you, it's like a restaurant every meal! He watched every session of conference, and loved every second of it. He kept saying, wow, it just all relates so much to me. It's amazing. He told me that he feels like a new person that is starting a new life. I told him, "Oh just wait til you're baptized. Then you really will be a totally new person." How exciting and beautiful. Baptism is such an amazing opportunity to start fresh and have an even deeper relationship with God. I know it's not necessary, but I almost wish I could get baptized again, just so I would appreciate it as much as I should have when I was eight. Yay for the sacrament though, where I can start fresh and remake those covenants every week. Even more, Mike is so caring and protective of us. In fact, he was a body guard in the past for some celebrities and he always offers to be our bodygaurd haha. We actually let him help us out this week when we met with Steve and Rod in the park. They are alcoholics and homeless and a whole lot of other stuff, but they really do want to improve and change. We always make sure to meet in the park, where it's open and public, but this last time, we had just finished eating and teaching Mike, so he walked us to the park and sat on a nearby bench for 2 hours! Even more, he listened to the Book of Mormon on his ipod the whole time! What a boss. Seriously, I don't know where this guy came from, but he can stick around. It was pretty funny at the end though, because Rod (who drinks nd smokes DURING our lesson....baby steps right?) saw us talking to Mike after our lesson and thought we were in danger, so he came over to "protect" us....as well as a slightly buzzed little man can do. Well, we told him Mike was our friend, and he said, "Oh! I'm sorry, I saw you with a strange man and thought I was going to have to come beat him up." Then Mike goes, "Oh, I don't think so.".......and they did their man stance at each other, you know, where so much is being exchanged without words. Well, you could have cut the tension with a knife. I had never seen Mike like that, and it was so funny! They both wanted to be the protectors of the sisters, and neither of them fully trusted the other. Men sometimes haha. So, don't worry, we are well taken care of, since we quite literally have a personal chef and body guard now. Our investigator Jesse is also doing well. He is 15, and he told us we make learning about the gospel fun. YAY! that is such a great thing to hear, because the gospel IS fun and happy. If it's boring to study, then change something now, because it's not supposed to be boring. Okay I gotta run, but I LOVE YOU ALL. Please forgive me for not writing as promptly. It's so busy and there are soo many letters to write AAAAAHHHH! 

Okay, take care, smile, and let your light shine. See the beauty in yourself, because I [promise it's there.