Week 24 - I'm getting transferred!

 Olá amigos e amigas! 

This week was great! Sorry for the long email. I mostly put this for myself to look back on later. But if you have the willpower to read it, enjoy!

So as you probably can tell by the title, I'm getting transferred tomorrow! It'll be so weird to change everything after being here for so long. I've been in this same area, inside this apartment for over four months now. And the same comp! I'm going to miss Sister Steele!! She's super funny and she makes me laugh a lot. This will probably be good for me though because we often act like crackheads around each other. It'll also be good for me get to bed on time. We often stay up late telling each other random stories. I'll miss her, but I'm excited for what's ahead! I'm going to South Bend, replacing Sister Junot, who is leaving for Brazil next week! 

And since I'm getting transferred, here's a last update on our friends:

Lydia: 

She's our friend who has been on date for baptism twice, and just moved back from the Ivory Coast. We've met with her a few times and she has such a strong testimony! She's super sweet, and she's definitely ready for baptism, she just needs a little time because she's got a lot on her plate. 

Glenn: 

We never know what to do with him. He's just all over the place. One day he wants to be a motivational speaker, then he's planning on traveling to another country for his "upside down pyramid"-scheme business, and then the next day he loses an investment, quits school, and wants to leave this planet, then he finds a girl and talks with her a lot and wants to get married, then he decides to leave it all and be a missionary, then he writes an entire book in a day, etc. etc. He's an interesting guy. We've been meeting with him a lot, but most of the time it's just him talking at us. He's got a lot to say. We text him often too, but he rarely processes the things we say. He's a good guy, and he has a lot of potential, he just needs to stop running after so many things. This gospel will help him so much! He just needs to recognize it and listen to what God is trying to tell him. 

Ricky: 

I'm going to miss Ricky! He's in jail right now, and probably will be for quite a few months, but we got the Book of Mormon delivered to him, and he's excited to read it! He's super awesome and he has so much potential! I'm definitely going to be attending his baptism in a year or two, or whenever it will be. 

Carolyn:

She has been taught in the past but has been hard to contact, until a few weeks ago, when suddenly she wants to do short Bible studies every day! She has a lot of health and financial concerns, but she says that our daily calls have really helped her. She's a super sweet lady, and she's planning on coming to church next Sunday!

Laura: 

I love Laura! We found her on Facebook from a "Free Bible studies" post. She's a single mom with 3 kids, and she is super sweet. She was really shy at first but she's opened up a lot and we've introduced the gospel to her! Our last lesson was about Joseph Smith's first vision and she is super receptive, and very grateful that we've been calling her. I'm sad that I won't be teaching her anymore, but I'm glad I can still see what she's up to on Facebook!

Jean:

We found our first Brazilian friend! We found Jean from our Facebook ad on our Portuguese page: "Vinde a Cristo em Indiana" (Even if you don't speak Portuguese, you should go like it)! He says he really needs help with English, so he wants to do classes every day for an hour! And he's already expressed interest in learning about the gospel! He talked to us about how lately he's had a lot more interest in the Bible, and how he has a lot of questions! I really like Jean, he's super friendly and he has a super cute daughter. And I'll probably still get to teach him since Sister Steele will have a hard time doing it on her own. Woohoo!

Angela

We got a referral from a member this week! Her name is Angela and she's cute. She is also very chatty. We called her on Thursday to see how she was doing, and she told us so many random stories jumping between lots of different topics, and she wouldn't stop. We tried to cut it off a few times but then she would think of another story, and she would go on for another 10 minutes. I feel bad, I should have been actively listening and contributing to the conversation, but these hoosier calls just drain all of my energy. I was so tired but we were trapped in our car listening to her talk and talk and talk, and there was no escape. The call ended up lasting an entire hour! It actually brought me to tears, I was so mentally drained by the end of it. She's a sweet lady though, and she's had a hard life. She just needs a friend to talk to. But she seemed very interested in our message! She loves to read so we dropped off a Book of Mormon and a Bible, and we're going to have a lesson this next week!

We also have some friends that we message now and then but I think that's all the people that we're consistently teaching. I love missionary work! I love getting to know people and feel the love that the Savior has for them. People are awesome. We were able to have 100 people at church this Sunday and it was so fun to see everyone! I didn't realize how much I missed large gatherings. It was so cool hearing everyone sing the hymns together, it almost made me cry. I'm going to miss our ward. 

 "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 81:10) 

Anyways, love you all, have a good week, and email me if you want my new address! 

1. Portugese page friends

2. Social Media Squad! I'm kida sad I won't be a social media leader anymore :/

3-4 The Lafayette district!

5. Pizza

6. Pile of snow

Week 23 - Icicle hair

Olá tudo mundo! 

This week was good! It went by super fast. We're making progress with our friends Lydia, Carolyn, Laura and Glenn, the instagram page is growing, and we've contacted a bunch of other people! I still feel like we could be doing more though. I wish our days were full of actual teaching. I feel like it takes a lot longer to progress or actually get a lesson in through messaging people. But the work goes on! I love being a missionary. 

Also Ricky called us again! He's going through some hard times but he has so much faith in God, and a lot of hope for the future. When told him we ordered a Book of Mormon for him and he started to cry he was so happy :' ) 

It's been very snowy here in Indiana! I'm feeling very grateful that we don't have to go knocking on doors. We did go outside to take some cool pictures to use for Facebook, and I don't think I've ever been so cold. My hands felt like they were burning. I like the snow though, it has its perks. The other day we got our hair wet and stood outside with our heads upside down, and we froze our hair spiking up! Sister Steele's turned out pretty good. I didn't go all out like she did though because I was afraid of my hair breaking off. 

Spiritual thought:

Last week we were teaching our friend Laura about the restoration of the gospel, and I kinda hesitated talking about it. I couldn't tell the story of Joseph's first vision, because I felt like I didn't really know it was true. We've been promised that if we want to know what is true, we just have to ask God in prayer, and He will give us an answer. (see Moroni 10:3-5). I've done this many times, and I've felt peaceful, but I've been left a little disappointed because I didn't get the powerful, clear answer that I wanted. How can I know something is true if I haven't had that "undeniable experience" like Joseph Smith did when he prayed in the sacred grove? Can I really testify to people that what we're saying is true if I haven't seen an angel, had a heavenly vision, or had a "burning in the bosom"experience?

As I've thought and prayed about it more, I've come to realize that I don't need some miraculous experience to have a testimony. I can know it's true by experiencing the blessings that come from living the gospel, by seeing how happy it makes people, or by getting excited and enlightened whenever I study the scriptures! Like it says in Alma 32:34 - 

"And now, behold, is your ^aknowledge ^bperfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your ^cfaith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your ^dmind doth begin to expand."

I don't know everything, and no, I couldn't "prove" to you that God is real, or that the Church of Jesus Christ is His true church, but I do know that it is good, and I do know that this gospel makes me happy, it brings me peace, and it "enlightens my understanding" like nothing else.

Yes, miraculous things do often happen, but most of the time it is through "small and simple things" that testimonies grow. (Alma 37:6). Faith isn't supposed to be a perfect knowledge. Life was designed for us to rely on faith, not signs. (Mark 16:17) I can know that it comes from God by the simple good things that come from it! (Matthew 7:20)

Anyways so if you're feeling frustrated or like you're lacking, hang in there! Stick with it because this church is so true and it's so good.

I hope you all had a great valentines day, and a good next week! Amo vocês, tchau!

- Sister Wride

Week 22 - Quick trip to California

Olá!! This week was kinda crazy. If you don't want to read a novel, there's a summary at the bottom :)

It's been so cold lately! I spend most of my mornings curled up in my blanket with my hair blow dryer blowing inside like a hot air balloon. On average it's below 10°, and I think our coldest day from this week was on Friday, when it got down to -2°, (but felt like -18° according to my weather app.) It's so cold that we have to keep all of the sink faucets running all day so the pipes don't freeze! The snow is pretty though..

Soooo, Sister Steele flew to San Francisco!! She was tired of putting up with me and my sass, so she just left. JK, she had to apply for her visa at the Portugal consulate in person. She stayed with some senior couple missionaries, and they gave her a whole tour: She walked on the golden gate bridge, stopped by the beach, drove through the city, and saw other cool places. (pics included :)) So that was pretty cool! Who else can say that they took a trip to California while on their mission? We were all super jealous. Anddd, it's likely that she'll leave for Portugal on March 26th! It's not official, but she got a glimpse of her travel itinerary, and that's what it said. ALSO, a few reassigned missionaries, including my old companion Sister Junot got their travel plans to go back to Brazil! Crazy. They're kinda sad to leave Indiana though :/

While Sister Steele enjoyed the sun and warm weather in California, I stayed with the Sisters at Eagle Creek, and it was a party. We served at a food bank, sat through a 6 hour new missionary training, and made a cringey video about exercising faith, which included a bunch of clips of us exercising while reading the scriptures. It was weird to be part of another companionship! I kinda missed Sister Steele. They did their lessons and such, while I sat in the corner and did language study and contacting people by myself. 

Speaking of which, Ricky called!!! We haven't heard from him in over 6 weeks, so we've been really sad. Then I got a call from this one number that sounded like a scam, and I hung up on them. Then they called again, and I hung up. Then the 4th time I actually listened, and the robot voice said "An inmate from the Tipacanoe county jail wants to speak with you." then I realized "Maybe this is Ricky!" So I answered and it was!! Apparently he's been in jail since the beginning of January, so that's why we haven't been able to reach him! He was in house arrest before, and broke one of the rules so that's why he's back in jail. Poor guy, he's been through a lot :'( He's so awesome though! He is one of the most genuine and sweet guys you'll ever meet. He was saying "Oh! I wish I had a Book of Mormon, this would be such a good time to read!" So we're going to order one for him. Hopefully we'll get to call again. Keep Ricky in your prayers!! 

One other miracle from last week: So since we're the "Social Media Leaders", we are in charge of gathering together all the content that missionaries make, and schedule to post them on the page, which takes like 3 hours a week. So during social media planning last Sunday, we were scheduling all of the posts, but the chromebook for some reason wouldn't let us log in to google drive, so we couldn't copy all of the captions we need for the posts. We were already mentally exhausted and it was already getting late, so this was the last thing we needed. After about 10 minutes of being frustrated, we decided that we would just have to type out all the captions, which would take an extra hour. Then we thought "maybe we should say a prayer." So we prayed, then suddenly it worked! What do ya know, God actually answers prayers! It reminded me that God is involved in our efforts and he is always there, we just have to remember to turn to Him. 

"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but are made conditional on out asking for them." (David O Mckay)

I promise that God does hear you and he will answer your prayers! Keep praying and reading the scriptures because it's so important!!

Summary: Sister Steele flew to California, it's freezing cold here, Ricky finally called us, and prayers work!

Love you all, and I'd love to hear what you're up to!

Tem uma boa semana! Tchau Tchau!

Pictures!

1. This is the kind of content that people send in to post on the page... 

2. I paid $40 to see these fish. (Well, $40 to get some documents notarized for my visa, but the fish there were pretty cool!)

3-5. San Francisco!

6. 

7. Corona 

Week 21 - Marriage proposals

 Olá!!! 

How are you all doing? 

This week we had our first lesson with someone from instagram!! Jk I wouldn't actually call it a success. So this dude from India messaged Sister Steele and wanted to know about Jesus, so we called him. The connection was super bad, but he had some good questions, until he got a little sketchy and said things like "I like your voice" and "you are so pretty". We also could barely hear him because there were screeching children in the background. (It reminded me of home!) Then he asked "Is it ok, in Jesus, if I flirt with you?" And Sister Steele is just like "Umm.. No, that's not really okay because I'm a missionary..." Then he asked when she would be coming to India, if she has an arranged marriage, and if it's ok if followers of Christ to marry, etc. Then he said "When you get home, I will propose you for marriage. Do you accept?" AHHHH!!! We were trying so hard not to burst out laughing, but Sister Steele kept herself together well and said "No sorry, I can't accept." Then we dipped. After, the Indian dude texted her and said "When I first met you, I felt like Jesus came to me in your form. I look forward to our next call." So that was a nice experience... We're probs gonna drop him. 

ALSO go follow our instagram page! It's @seeking.the.savior !! We just started it up a few days ago, so it looks really lame as of now, but we have good plans in store. 

Also not to flex, but as "Social media leaders", we hardly have any restrictions on our phone. As all of you missionaries are well aware, the Maas360 filter app blocks basically everything. But since we have instagram now, it comes with "expanded access", which includes twitter, google, spotify, and a bunch of editing apps. And we have a computer, which somehow lets us go to YouTube. We don't even have restrictions anymore, woohoooo! Just kidding, I'm an obedient missionary, and we won't use anything unless President Page allows it. Even with just using Facebook, there is a lot of trust put into us missionaries! 

As of teaching, we haven't heard from Ricky for the last 2 weeks (he must have lost his phone again) but we met with Lydia again, we dropped off a Bible to this dude named Gary who lives in the boonies, and we've been calling Carolyn every day to share scriptures and we just introduced the Book of Mormon, which made her confused because she was like "Wait.. Mormons, those are the people that don't believe in God right?" and we had to explain that we were Mormons, but also not really because it's "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." She's like "Oh I must be confusing you guys with a different church then." Oh well, we'll clear that up later. We also taught Glenn some more, but his lessons kind of wear me down because they're so long. He rambles off about anything and everything. I'm pretty sure we could have a 2 hour long call without us saying a word. But Glenn is cool. We had a good lesson about Joseph Smith and the Restoration! He thought it was really cool, and he seems to believe it's true, but he can't see why having God's restored church on the earth is important or how it influences his life. 

But it is super important! This gospel has been such a blessing to me and to basically everyone who is a part of it. It has brought me so much perspective as to why things happen, and Gods plan for me for the future. I love it so much.

Last thing: Pray for Sister Steele! She's going in to apply for her visa to Portugal, and she could be denied right there. So basically Wednesday is a make-or-break situation, where it's decided whether or not she will ever get to her original assignment. 

I hope you all have a good week, and I'd love to hear what you're up to! Tchau Tchau 

- Sister Wride

1. Exchanges! Apparently Sister Peterson and I were in the same BYU class with Brad Wilcox!!

2. It's cold here

3. Service

4. Sunset in the Boonies. I understand now why people think the world is flat.

5. Have you ever put on 7 layers of socks and ran out in the fresh show? It's life changing