4/21/14

Hey, so life is chugging along here. I hope Easter was fantasic for
you guys. I know a lot people don't like the non-Jesus parts of
Easter, which I understand, but in my opinion, chocolate can only make
things better, haha. Easter isn't really a big deal here, except that
they eat fish all week, so that's kinda stinky...literally lol. I know
it would be great if the focus was perfectly on Christ, but to be
honest, I really am grateful that there are so many American
traditions centered around Easter. Even if they aren't all directly
related to Christ, they all have a link that helps remind me that this
day is special. Christmas and Easter here in Brazil are kinda just
another day to eat a lot of food. I truly think traditions are such a
blessing to have. I want to have loads in my future family because
even if every single activity  isn't pin the beard on the Jesus (sorry
if that was sacrilegious, haha), it makes the day special and
meaningful. Then it's our responsibility to keep our own minds focused
on the true motivation. I guess what I'm trying to say is that
everything can be a blessing if we make it. I think we need to make
things special for them to really stick and have meaning. Think about
baptism. It's not like God really needs water to be able to clean our
souls, but he has us do it that way so that we make our commitment a
special event.
As humans, we are awfully flaky, and so many well-intentioned people
say they want to give their whole life to God, but then they don't
want to do something that really commits them. To me, baptism is like
taking something that we know God can do and doing something special
to commemorate and show Him its real to US. Even though we take baths
all the time, its OUR faith and mindset...and of course the proper
priesthood authority that really gives baptism meaning. God always
works this way. I think He really wants us to make things special as
much as possible. I want to make every Sunday, every family day, every
scripture study something special for my future kids so that they have
more opportunities to direct their minds to the ultimate source of
happiness: God.
People search for happiness in so many of the wrong places and in the
end, it really is just a hollow chocolate bunny, but when we direct
everything back to the true source, we can find even greater
happiness. Our circumstances have so little to do with our emotional
state. It truly is what we choose to believe, feel, hope for, and act
on that determines our overall joy. What am I trying to say? Haha,
that's a great question. I think, all in all, I am learning as I write
this that WE choose our happiness. We choose if our circumstances
around us promote or inhibit our happiness. We can choose to make each
day special. Let us look forward to each day with a new hope and
excitement. Let us plan on a better tomorrow, and if we are expecting
a bad day, then fit SOMETHING good into your schedule. Men are that
they might have joy, and sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that
20 times a day, but if so, then do that, because God wants nothing
more than happiness for us.
I was thinking about Job and how all of his trials came from Satan,
not God. God just permitted them because he trusted Job so much.
Really, we should take our trials as a compliment. It means God thinks
we are ready...no actually he KNOWS we are ready, even when we don't.
Right now, the work is.....not going too smoothly. We have had to cut
almost all of our investigators because, more or less, they just don't
want to change....and sometimes I feel like I came to Jaboticabal just
to get my heart broken over and over and over again. Oh..we also have
worms again.....hahahaha yeah. Me and Sperry seem to have that effect
on each other. That's really just a whole other adventure that I don't
have time to explain, lol. But at least I will lose those extra pounds
I gained last tranfer, lol. So there's that, but you know what, there
really are so many blessings that I need to recognize. And just as I
said before, my happiness really is my choice. My trials only mean
that God knows I can handle it, and its the same for all of us.

Thanks for all you do. Make this week a great one. Make it
special....and throw in some chocolate, lol. I miss ya'll, but we will
be together soon.

Beijo,
Sis Hunny

4/14/14

Okay so this week...lets see. Well, I am always learning, so let me tell ya'll what I learned this week. I will be honest, lately I have been a bit disanimated in the work. I mean we still go out and work hard, but it just felt like the same old routine every day. I felt like a robot, which is really sad, because we were still seeing miracles every day and I knew it, but it just seemed like the same old thing. So, I knew I needed to change something.

I have been trying to take President Uchtdorf's advice and have an attitude of gratitude. I am trying to see success with eternal eyes, not with human, impatient eyes. Wow, guys, I have never had such a hard time with investigators just dropping out. I mean, we do everything for them and they know that this church is the answer to greater happiness, and yet they still lack action. I am just at a loss of what to do, other than just continue working patiently. Frustration is such a temptation and self doubt often creeps in. I thought, what am I doing wrong?!!! 

I was really thinking, Wow I must be a terrible missionary because we aren't having any success, but I had an awesome experience. My comp's health is kinda falling apart. and she is getting really discouraged. She has a hard time accepting love as well, but she is learning to trust and accept my love. As I was studying with her one morning, I had the strongest impression that right now, she is my most important mission. Sometimes we have to endure things because those around us have something to learn, and we must be there for them to lean on. Right now, my most important job is to love my comp, support her, and be her rock. I must stay positive even when we don't have success....in our eyes....because she is looking to me to know how to react. Sometimes, we think so narrowly that we think our circumstances are only occurring because of us, but in reality, sometimes trials come so to us because we have to be the wall that others lean on. So I will be that wall, and I will smile and will continue to help Sister B see daily miracles. I know that it will change me in the end too :)

Miracles: our less actives are returning, which is just as good as baptism, and Eduardo, a less active member, bore his testimony at church. Woooo. 

I hope my English isn't too horrible. I know I'm not super eloquent these days, but Portuguese makes me think in a weird order, haha.

I love you guys sooo much

4/7/14

(In response to news that her cousin, Austin, is going to Mexico on  his mission) Wow, MEXICO. Ahh he will rock it. I'm a little jealous that he gets to eat Mexican food.  I really miss it...a lot haha. But at least we have pao de queijo haha. No the food is great here, I just am not going to need rice and beans for a long time lol.

Okay so first off, lets just have a moment of silence about how awesome conference was. Woo. I just loved it, and get this, one of my favorite things was the Women's Conference. Wow, I have never been so proud to be a woman and a member of such a large sisterhood. Truly, women are so wonderful and have something so special to offer. I loved the contrast of black and white suits...then you get to the Women's Conference and it is soooo full of color. That is perfect. I just felt so....good about who am in God's eyes. We are all precious children. I thought that two interesting themes were that God always acts out of love for us and that we need to watch out for building our foundation on material things. Truly, the only things that can't be destroyed in seconds are who we are and our relationships. It is a great thing to remember in this busy, materialistic world.

Okay, so this week was really interesting, but great! A can get baptized!!!! Her parents finally are letting her! What a miracle. It was such a great test of patience for A but she passed and now she can finally start on the wonderful journey that God has prepared for her with the guidance of the Holy Ghost at her side. L...yeah....well we saw her, but she is just so discouraged by the opposition of her parents and has more or less given up. She has stopped praying because she is ashamed to face God. She feels like she is just not strong enough to change, and it was so hard to look into her face and see that she knows it's all true. She knows she could be happy but doesn't have that last bit of courage. Sometimes Satan just really stinks.

But R is reading the BoM and loving it and loving church...and Luc still wants to get married! All miracles. The work is progressing, but it's not about numbers, folks. My purpose, especially as a woman, is to nurture people and share the love of our Savior with others. I am trying my hardest to listen to the Spirit and stop to talk to those who need to feel it tooo. This week, a member was having a hard time, and I could tell, so I told her to stop the car during divisions, and we just talked. She cried, and we read some scriptures, and it was great. At the end, she told me very few missionaries in her life had impacted her like I had. Wow, that was all I needed to hear to feel fulfilled. I think missionaries often forget that we are representatives of Jesus Christ for members too.

So, this week we were both injured; My comp blasted her tendon in her knee and I got an infection in my toe. It looked like a big purple grape and hurt soooo bad. I finally understood those National Geographic episodes on Africa that show the animal that gets a tiny bit injured and they're like...Oh its all over. We have been limping around and its pretty funny, but also is impeding the work again. I'm excited to be able to visit my people again.

Nothing changed in transfers!!! Wahooo. I love our house of four sisters. We always have fun and laugh a lot and nooooo drama. YAY. I'm really happy and am so happy to be a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I am working to have a spirit of gratitude in all situations, just as Uchtdorf advised. 

Women, you are awesome and beautiful and wonderful. There is nothing more valuable than family. Nothing. Men, you guys are super awesome. Live up to the potential that God has for you. Be worthy of the power he has offered you. 

Love you all.

Sister Gimpy lol

4/1/14

so....this week... was great I think. I was sick one day, and my feet are pretty messed up. (Tess broke her orthotic shoe insert and we're trying to work out the best way to get a replacement to her.) Also, something really sad happened with L. She marked (made an appointment) with us to meet up and talk but then didn't show up, and then I think she lied to her mom and said that we stood her up...but we had been sitting in the church for almost an hour waiting. Her mom called us and said that  would never come to our church again...and L still hasn't called us....

I was pretty sad. BUT  right after we went to Luc's house, and I just adore her family. The kids are the most precious, tender things you have ever seen. They all sit together for our lessons and grab their Books of Mormon to read with us and then volunteer to say the prayer at the end. Its incredible to see how the Spirit has changed their family. So when we went to see them, we talked about eternal families, and Luc and A accepted to get married! Wahoo!. Wow, family is such a beautiful, incredible thing. It truly makes home a heaven on earth.

Sorry I'm so short this week. I'm still happy and learning always. I'm working hard and seeking to learn what my Heavenly Father needs to teach me. I'm so grateful for this short opportunity to serve.

Love yall

3/24/14

Okay, so this week! Well, it was the best of times and the worst of times, lol. I had some really hard stuff happen, but I guess that's how the mission goes, lol. I still feel so grateful to be here and am content with where I am, which is a huge blessing. Okay, so I'm going to tell you guys a story.

So, I was having a really bad day because of something that happened, but at the end of the day, guess what! I get a call from L, one of our investigators, and she asked me when the next baptism would be. I told her this Sunday and she said, Okay then I'm getting baptized this Sunday. Wow, okay so I was super excited and we saw her every day this week so that we could teach her all the lessons. She is so brave and incredible. She already wants to serve a mission, but the problem is that her family is super anti and is making a huge fight against the church. They are super devoted to their church, but L has courageously defended the church and her happiness to all of her friends and family, even if it means losing friends.

I was so impressed with her, but was a little worried that things were moving so fast. I worried about how her family would react and she still hadn't told them. Apparently, they were taking her pamphlets and throwing them across the room and yelling at her. Poor thing, she was so anxious the night before, after she had her interview with Elder C. For some reason, I was so anxious about her and had this feeling that things weren't going to work out. I fasted all day one day, even though we had to walk all day and I just NEEDED her to be okay, but I didn't feel good about the whole thing. I told Elder C that I wouldn't rest until she was in the water.

So, then on Sunday....we waited...and waited and waited and called and called and called...and yeah it didn't happen. I still don't know what happened, but I'm hoping she is alright.

So yes, moments like these happen a lot in the mission. I felt bad for B because I wanted to give her a miracle, but I guess that isn't mine to give in the end, haha.

 When I talked to B about what happened, I learned something as well. I told her that after moments like these, most people decide to lower their expectations of people and of God. But, we actually need to do the opposite. We have to keep our HOPE. We have to keep our expectations extra high and ADJUST our timing to Gods timing. When we lower expectations, we lose faith and we lose miracles, but hope is an anchor to the soul. We have to keep our faith, keep our hope, and trust that all things work out for the good of God's children. I have decided to trust in Father and believe that whatever happens, His timing is better than mine.

Never lose hope, and we can smile in the good times and the bad with the constant peace that we truly are in God's hands.

Love you guys.

 Tess getting a makeover

 Sister Barbie

3/17/14

In response to Carol telling Tess about a facebook video of two sister missionaries who changed the words of the Cups song to be about the restoration of the gospel, Tess said, "Haha Mom, that's funny, cause me and sister Sperry always sing the Cups song together and taught some investigators how to do the cups. They are so cute. 

In response to the following question from Stewart, "Some of us at church keep discussing what difference it makes to pray for you , your companion and your investigators, when Heavenly Father, it seems, would already do what is best for them anyway.  Your thoughts?" Dad, that's a really good question. Hmm, uhh, my answer, in short, is that I KNOW for sure prayers do make a difference. They align our will with God's will, but I think we truly do have our own power in prayer too. The Prophets have said that there is nothing more powerful than a mother's prayer and I believe it. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is if miracles are possible, and miracles depend on our faith, then doesn't that mean that our faith has power. Think about the miracles that Christ did. He could only perform miracles for those who had faith. Remember Peter walking on water. Christ's power didn't waver. It was Peters faith and trust. WE have power in faith. Prayer is an expression of our faith. Prayer is literally a conversation with God, our Father. Now, if our faith really does have power, then imagine how much positive energy and power must be headed toward those who need it most. Faith brings prayer and prayer brings faith and miracles are only possible this way. We are not helpless. Yes God has all power and knowledge and His plan is perfect, but do you really think His plans are so rigid that he can't make tiny adjustments to give His children something good that they truly desire.? God makes the plans. The plans don't make God. He wants to make us happy and He gives us things that are most important to us that will bring us true happiness. How does He know what we want? How do we know what we really want? Prayer. Remember we are here to learn. This plan was made for us, so it makes sense to me that we could could have a little influence here and there... lol...Just my opinion.

So, guess what guys? This week was so full of miracles. S, a less active member that I have been desperately trying to get to come to church, came! Also, C, my investigator and Brazilian mother, is getting married and baptized the 29th!!! She hasn't smoked for almost two week and her daughter T will get baptized too. Ahhh, it's such an awesome miracle. Elder J will baptize her, which is even better, because he is probably my very best elder friend in the mish. Also, a contact I made in Ribeirao Preto got baptized. I remember he flagged us down in the street, and we brought him to the mission office to get all kinds of books; then we ran into him again that night and invited him to a family home evening, and he actually came. That night, I got to bear my testimony to him, and later I found out he was going to institute. Now, he is baptized!! Wow, it made me realize that I honestly will never know how much my mission impacts the world. If I hadn't gotten a call from sister Zapata, I would have never known what happened to Anderson, but his life will be changed forever. This work is not about numbers. It is about people, hearts, souls, and smiles. I am working super hard still, but its different. I am working for love now. I walk till my legs feel like jello and my eyeballs are sunburned, but it's not because I'm supposed to WORK. It's because I am walking to those I love.

I'm so happy right now. I love training and I love Sister B. Sometimes I REALLY feel like a mom' and it requires a lot of patience, but I don't mind it at all, because I know I am serving an important purpose. My goal is to help Sister B have the best start to her mission so that she can know that a mission is more of a blessing than it is a sacrifice. Right now, we are still working on that one, lol. But she really listens and remembers the things I teach her, so I can't complain.

Hey guys, this life is a good one. Remember that we never need to despair, because Father is watching. We are in His hands...and prayers really do work. HOPE is the anchor to our souls.

I love you guys more than Hawaiian pizza and cheesecake and Mexican food. ....yeah, i really love you guys :)

Beijoas

sister Hunny

3/10/14

Hello my people!! How's it over there in the states? Is it finally warming up, because it's starting to cool down, and I cannot begin to tell you how much of a blessing that is? Finally, I'm not sweating in my sleep. Actually, one night Sperry and I were outside looking at the stars and we actually got cold...what? It was a little miracle. Journal- worthy I think, lol.

Okay, so can I just tell you guys I am super happy right now? Life is good. Life has always been good, but right now, its super good. What changed? Well, the people and circumstances did change (so happy to have my Sperry back), but honestly I believe it has more to do with my attitude. So  what I've realized is that I am not so bad after all, you guys. I have a lot of capacity to help others, and I really know I am making a difference, even when our numbers aren't fantastic. I am learning to TRUST IN HEAVENLY FATHER. He really does know what he is doing. I am practicing patience with myself and patience with Him, and guess what! Now I'm happy go lucky no matter what happens, because I trust that His plans are better than mine. We are having success with A and L. A is so set on getting baptized and rode her bike all the way to church, and then just switched her sweaty shirt. She is awesome. 

B is so awesome.She is so willing to do everything I ask and always wants to learn. What I love most about her is that she is always laughing!! Always. It really helps to lighten the day when things don't work out. I am trying to help her have the best beginning of the mission ever, because a lot of the times, the very start is the worst. That's not going to happen to my novinha, no sir. I am learning so much.

This week we made pizza with an Italian family.....which was awesome because they actually use tomato sauce and lots of cheese. Heaven!!! Me and Sperry loaded up the tomato sauce. The Brazilians were pleasantly surprised lol. We even filled the crust with cheese. Pretty legit. Its crazy how people who don't know us invite us into their homes and feed us, lol. Cracks me up sometimes where we end up in the mission life. Every day is an adventure for sure. Love you guys sooo much.