11-25-13

hello hello hello

I got Dad’s letter last Monday right after I wrote my email. I guess the mail service is on strike right now so some are taking longer :(

So....well....we have a baptism this week! That’s a miracle. It’s been up and down, on and off with Agatha. She is the daughter of a less-active member that we met in the street and hadn’t been active for about 20 years. Now she is coming back to church and hopefully her 11 yr old daughter Agatha is getting baptized this Saturday. Her most important request was that we make her chocolate cake, square not round, with brigadeiro and coconut haha. She really likes cake. She really wants to be baptized too, but she has been scared that her Mom won’t stay active and she didn’t want to make a commitment to God that she wouldn’t keep, so that’s why she has been off and on. I have been fasting every week and was fasting yesterday when we set the date. I truly believe it was an answer to my fasting. 

This area is not easy. We have so many people who want to be happier, but they just aren’t willing to give up their addictions or face their fears. I wish I could show them that it really isn’t a sacrifice, because the blessings they will receive through their faith will immensely outweigh what they give up. It’s like trading a piece of stale bread for an entire wedding cake! 

What else? The language is coming along. I’m feeling more and more comfortable every day. Yesterday, sister A was really sick so I taught a lesson all on my own while she was sitting there super out of it. That was a miracle too, for sure. Half of the time I was just hoping I was responding correctly, but I know the Spirit was helping me. 

So transfers are coming up. A and I both have a feeling that something is going to change but we aren’t sure. I’m a little nervous, because she has been such a help to me, and I don’t want her to leave. But I know Heavenly Father will help me and qualify me if that’s what needs to happen. Wow can you believe I’ve been on a mission for 5 months. Next transfer I’ll hit 6. Weird. Time goes by really fast and really slow at the same time. I can’t really explain it. 

I sent you guys a letter with more details about life in Brazil, because it’s hard to think of stuff during email time, but I don’t know how long it will take. 

What else, oh Celia, our awesome investigator, fell off a wall the other day and got hurt really bad. We are hoping she is okay. We have dinner at her house today, so we will see. Oh funny story really quick.

So, the Bishop doesn’t really like the Sisters and we aren’t sure why, but his wife also was really cold toward us. I really wanted this to change, so I asked Rita, his wife, if we could visit her. She was so excited we had thought of her and said she would make us bread. So, before we went there, we were going to Maria’s(another member/angel) for her birthday and we had bought 2 necklaces for her. But sis A thought we should actually give one of them to Bishop’s wife. Well, we did and it was so cool. She started crying and appreciated it sooooo much and couldn’t believe we would do that for her....and now we are basically her favorite people in the world. Thanks you Holy Ghost. I think that will help a lot. Seriously, the Spirit can guide us in ALL things if we just act and listen. Don’t be afraid to act immediately on a prompting and don’t doubt your thoughts. God can have a hand in EVERYTHING if we only let Him in.

That same day, we didn’t follow our plan at all and went to a lot of random houses, but people cried in every single house we visited. It was so cool to see how we are constantly guided to those who need us most. This work is not about numbers or baptisms. I mean, yes those are super important, but baptism is only a quick step on the path to following Jesus Christ. The true importance of this work is just to be a tool in God’s hands so that we can help people endure to the end, progress, and enjoy the many many blessings God has in store for all His children. Please keep an eye out for less actives. Look for new faces or people who are sitting alone at church and go talk to them. People are waiting to be contacted. People want to matter and they want to be thought of, but they don’t know how to reach out. The ward is a family. We need to take care of one another. Our area is 90 % less active and I know the Lord is just as happy to see inactive members return to church as he is about new baptisms. Those of you who want to be a missionary, but can’t think of what to do, go talk to someone who hasn’t been to church. Find the ward list and give people a call. Be a friend to those who need one. Keeping people in the fold is just as important as bringing others, because we all need to be uplifted. We all struggle at times. That is why we are all here on this earth together. I love you all. Shine your light! Share your love, and you will receive more!

I miss you guys so much, but it’s truly a small sacrifice for the blessings that God has and is giving me. 

Love sis Hunny

11/18/13

Hello,

I have gotten one letter since arriving. I think im going to have to wait a lot longer for mail from now on....so keep em coming haha. I need letters, not to sound demanding or anything....but they REALLY help.

Well, in all honesty its hard to remember what happened this week. I'm pretty sure I spoke a lot of Portuguese (or tried lol), saw lots of miracles, and came home.....crawled home every day exhausted haha. Life as a missionary is kind of impossible to describe. I have never been so tired in my life. My brain is always working hard because of the language...and there have litterally been a few lessons where I have to keep shifting around so that I don't fall asleep. Actually, Im pretty sure I might have accidently fallen asleep in a lesson or or two for a few seconds, but I don't think they noticed.

So, we MIGHT get a baptism this transfer! Whoo. We had a lot of dates set for this transfer and sooo many awesome investigators, but all of them just need more time. So we have big plans for next transfer. Our goal is 15 baptisms! Hey, its possible. We just need lots of faith....and work...and fasting. We are fasting every week. I know this will bring miracles. I would fast every day if we were allowed, but alas, once a week is the limit. I love fasting, because its something I KNOW I can do right and I'm guaranteed to get help from God. Its like paying tithing. When we have something we CAN actually do perfectly, take advantage, because there are very few things I can do perfectly. I like the things that I can do exactly right and not always feel inadequate. I have never been so humbled by any experience in my life. I feel so inadequate all the time, but luckily Heavenly Father is carrying my along. There are some lessons where I forget we are speaking another language and everything just flows, but then their are others where my brain just gives up and all I can do is wait for a spare moment to bear my testimony about something I think they were talking about haha.

Im not going to lie, many times I feel so alone because of the  language barrier. I love talking to people and really getting to know them, but here it's difficult because I often can't understand the responses to my questions. My comp is very helpful and supportive, but it's still hard sometimes. I think this experience is really good for me though, because I'm learning to rely on the Savior so much. For the first time in my life, I really have nobody else to emotionally rely on, so I have to turn to my Savior. All this time, I knew ABOUT Christ, but I didnt really KNOW Him as the dear, trusted friend that he is to all of us. He knows how I feel. He truly can comfort me, but its my job to turn to Him for help. I think I have always been a little too proud and maybe a little to weak in my faith to turn to Christ and really believe he would be able to comfort and help me like a friend, but I know He can. He is right now, and even though its hard, I know this experience is a blessing. I have wanted to KNOW Christ my whole life, and I'm beginning to. He is real. He is powerful and gentle, strong and meek, loving and wise all at the same time. I promise you all that when you feel that there is NOBODY that understands you.....there is. We are never alone. He is waiting to comfort us all. He knows our pains. He weeps when we weep, just like He wept when Lazarus died, even though he knew he would rise again.

to me

Im learning so much every day. Literally we have miracles every day! I just need to be more patient, I know. There is so much I need to work on. Luckily I have lots of time...eternity actually lol.

I think my favorite moment this week was when a man told me I was `luminada`, which means he could see that I had light....in a sense. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing much and I'm running in place, but moments like that remind me that I do have light and that I am an example of Christ for others.  We can all be examples of Christ. I love you all so much and miss you.

abracos,

sis Hunny

Pictures 11-11-13

11-11-13

Okey dokey!

So its already been 3 weeks. In some ways it's gone by so fast. In other ways I feel like I've been her for a year haha. Wow, there is nothing like learning another language. Nothing. I can't describe it any other way than just always feeling like you  are a newborn baby all over again that has to learn to walk, and sometimes you need your diaper changed, but you can't scream and cry because you are actually a mature adult and a representative of Jesus Christ and all that good stuff. So yeah, sometimes you just keep working with diaper rash. 

BUT its also the coolest thing in the world when I'm talking and forget I'm speaking in another language and then realize it. Wow, the Holy Ghost is so awesome and soooo helpful. Yesterday I had an awesome experience in regards to this. We were doing contacts and met a kid playing futbol in the street, and when we started talking to him he went and got his mom. We were like okay that works, then she invited us in and just waited for us to start teaching. By the way, this never happens here. Okay, so we start teaching her and the kids together and it was awesome. The Spirit was so strong and talking was easy for me. A lot of times, I never know if the people actually understood what I said or if they are just being polite, but at the end of the lesson, Rose, the woman, told me that she understood everything I said because the Holy Ghost carried it from my heart to hers. She said the closing prayer and asked if what we told her was true, and started crying during the prayer. At the end, she told us that she had prayed that morning to know what she should do to better her life, and she said she knew we were messengers from God and an answer to her prayer. It was amazing. Things like this happen every day. I can't believe it. Miracles happen everyday you guys. I promise. We just have to open our eyes and see with faith. Missionary work is so emotionally exhausting, but these gifts from God like this are what carry me through. I want to work even harder and show God I have faith. I hope you all are seeing blessings in your life, because I am working really hard haha. When I feel like I have nothing left, I think of those I care about, and it gets me pumped that I can do something for them :)

 

Today is going to be awesome because Celia, our amazingly delightful investigator is going to teach us how to make gnochi and this amazing fish dish from scratch. Oh my mouth is watering already. Celia is sooo awesome. I just love being around her, and I have never met someone with so much faith and such enthusiasm in bearing it. She feels like a mom to me, which is really nice to have, even if I can barely understand what she is saying haha. I love sitting next to her in church. I don't know how to explain it, but she reminds me of you, Mom, even though she is super loud and so different, I feel like I'm sitting with you when I sit with her in church. Every week in church, she tells the WHOLE world this church is true and she is not even baptized yet. She is such an example of how we should all treat our testimonies. We need to shine our light. We need to share our gifts. 

Speaking of gifts, I read Moroni 10 about spiritual gifts. Did you know the same thing is in Corinthians 12 and D and C 46 (i think 46 or 42) so it must be pretty important. Anyway, I can't believe how many of these gifts I have developed in my mission and am beginning to recognize in myself now. I promise they were not there before, but as I have gained more faith, these gifts have come as a side effect. How amazing! God has been blessing me in ways I didn't even recognize...and they are really cool ways..things that I can't really write about in an email. You guys, the coolest part is that the scriptures promise these spiritual gifts to all those who have faith, nothing more required. Men and women and children can all have these amazing gifts and they are given liberally as long as we have faith. I promise you that if you desire to have these gifts, then you can. You only need to have faith that it is possible. I know that God works miracles. I know that there are angels among us carrying us through our challenges. I know that we can do amazing things if we have the courage to shed our doubts and believe anything is possible. 

You guys are awesome! I love you all soooo much. I challenge you to pray for miracles. I challenge you to talk to strangers and share the gift of the gospel with others. I challenge you to believe, and if not yet believing, then have the desire to believe and the faith will come (Alma 32).

love love love sis Hunny/Barbie/boneca branca

Beijos

Pics from Brazil

11/4/13

Oi! Tudo Bem. So first please the excuse the many typos that will occur because this key board is awful, but oh well. 

So, where to begin. Wow, there is so much to say. My brain is learning so much everyday, but so is my spirit. I can't believe how tired I am every day, but its a good tired, because every night I go to bed and know that I worked as hard as I could. Speaking of work, I had the coolest little personal revelation. So I have been worrying about a lot of people. Well, I dunno if worrying is the right word, but wishing I could be there to help them. Lots of different people. It was interfering with my focus and really draining me, but then I was talking with Sis A and she told me about a scripture in D and C 118 I think that basically says that when we work our hardest, then God will pour out blessings on our loved ones. When I read this, I just knew that this was true for me. I know that if I am am here in this place right now for a reason, and I know that God has a perfect plan for everyone. I can't physically be there for everyone, because they are all over the place, but in my heart I now know that I really CAN do something for them. I can WORK! Somehow, and I don't know how that is, the harder I work, the more blessings I can bring to my loved ones. Like I said before, I don't know how it's gonna work, but people, be expecting some great blessings, because I am working even harder now. Its seriously so exciting for me to work now. It was before, but sometimes you just feel like you can't do more or like you're getting nowhere. But now, when I feel like taking a rest, I think of how I could be helping my loved ones, and I want to walk a little farther, and talk to more people. God has given me so much! I have a healthy body and mind. I have dear family and friends. Now I have the chance to serve people here and even out of my presence. That's all I could ask for. I love work. I am so motivated now. I'm so excited to hear how your lives go and what blessings everyone receives, so everyone: pay attention to the miracles that happen in your lives. Look for unexpected blessings. I know God keeps His promises and that He is always pouring His love upon us. 

Oh I have to tell you something funny. So, nobody can pronounce my name. NOBODY. So I have about a million different names: Sister Hunny, Sister Hunny Baby (don't ask), and Sister Barbie (everyone also always thinks I look like a Barbie because of my blonde hair. I find it ironic because I never even liked Barbies as a kid and hated....still hate pink haha), or boneca (which means doll, another reference  to Barbie). Its always funny to see peoples' faces when I tell them my name. Most people just don't even try to repeat it. ]

This week, we made 164 contacts! A contact is when you talk with someone on the street or where ever and we usually try to teach them something, bear testimony of something and then get their address for a time when we can return and teach more. Its sooo different from NY because people almost always say yes. What?! People here are sooooo friendly. Strangers can just walk up to each other and pick up a conversation and its not weird at all. Everything is more laid back here, but Ribeirao is still pretty nice. Most of the people we work with would consider themselves poor, but in a lot of ways, their houses are nicer than the houses in North Tonawanda NY. I actually feel like Brazil is a step up from where I was in a lot of ways. So, everyday we see so many miracles. Every day! Yesterday was fantastic. We had an amazing testimony meeting at church with 4 investigators there and 3 less actives. Everyone's testimonies were so powerful and the whole room was crying. I was pretty scared, but I bore my testimony as well. It was so cool, because when I rely on the Spirit, I can speak Portuguese so much better. It helps me to put my thoughts into words, but even more, I think it helps me speak to peoples' hearts, even if my grammar is very flawed. At church, one of our investigators, Celia, saw the picture of the second coming with Jesus and the angels and began to weep, because she had dreamed this exact image, but had never seen anything like it. She is now determined to quit smoking so that she can be baptized in November. It was so awesome. She knows it is true :)

Okay well I've gotta run but I hope all is well and I'm working hard for you all, my dear ones. God loves you. I know this for a fact. He loves us all perfectly despite our imperfections. Don't doubt the power of faith and diligence and especially service. These will bring us closer to Christ. Remember that God wants this life to be happy and simple. Don't over complicate things and trust in God. What a blessing that He has all the answer and we don't have to. 

LOVE YALL beijos

Sis Hunny