Week 70 - Flying cockroach

Oi Pessoal! Tudo bom? 

Nossa Senhora, this week went by super fast. Here's an update from me if you're interested, but it's kinda long so I won't feel bad if you don't read it 

Marta

Guess what!?! Marta is on date for baptism!! 

Ok so basically Marta is the most elect lady ever. She moved here a few months ago on account of her son Fabio, who was going through some problems and had to leave her city. And shortly after coming here she got into a really abusive relationship with this punk named Fabricio, who is super controlling. He doesn't let her work or go anywhere alone, he snoops around on her phone, and he steals her money to buy drugs. When we met her back in October, she was just broken, and right away she opened up to us and told us everything she's been going through, despite that we didn't even know each other. When we introduced the Book of Mormon to her, her face lit up and she immediately wanted to know more. When Marta came to church for the first time, she absolutely loved it, and afterwards told us that she wants to prepare for baptism! 

We're pretty much the only people she has to turn to, so for the past few months we've been trying to help her in what little ways we can, but it's been hard with her boyfriend getting in the way. He let her come to church a few more times, but more recently he's tightened his grip and we haven't been able to reach her at all. So we've been feeling pretty much hopeless, until last Wednesday when Marta called us and said that she's finally done with Fabricio and all his crap, and she kicked him out!!!! 

She told us that for weeks she's been trying to figure out what she should do, and she's been desperately looking for the apartment key that he's been hiding. Then she remembered how in our church we pray addressing God as "Heavenly Father" and so she got on her knees and asked her Heavenly Father to help her get her out of this situation, and to help her find the apartment key. Then later that day (in a spot where she's looked many times before) she found the apartment key, and mustered up the courage to tell Fabricio to leave her house or she would call the police. And I don't know how she did it, but Fabricio left!!!!! 

After telling us all this she was like "Alright, so now what do I have to do to be baptized?? What do I have to read?" So since then we've been meeting with her every day teaching her all the lessons, and she loves it and is SO receptive to it all! She even takes notes :) When we told her that she can't drink coffee, she was like "Really?¹? That's going to be really hard to give up! But no problem, if it's a commandment then ok, I won't drink it anymore." She's just amazing! Her baptism will be this Saturday, so look out for next weeks weekly ;) 

The tragedy of the apartment no Centro

Ever since I got here I've wanted to move out of this apartment. It's gross, and it's full of ants, and the windows are tiny. It's like a prison cell. When I arrived in Brazil, Sister Gonzalez and I had to stay here with Sister Leal and Sister Carter while we looked for a house. The whole process took 3 weeks, and by the end of it I was so happy to move out! Then I got transferred back here with Sister Leal, but she assured me saying "Don't worry, they're already wanting us to move into a better apartment, we've already got one picked out. We'll move out in the next two weeks or so." Well, 6 weeks later we still hadn't moved out, and 6 weeks after that the mission office finally started to get the new apartment approved. Then they realized that the new one they picked out was really old, so we had to go pick out another one. Ugh. When Sister Lima got here she immediately wanted to move out too, and so we found an apartment on the same street as the church. There were cupboards, and counter space in the kitchen, bathroom mirrors, ventilation, and big windows. It was just perfect! So we sent the mission office all the photos and information they needed. As we've been waiting, the apartment conditions here have worsened and termites have settled in, so we've been getting desperate. 6 weeks later, they finally got the apartment approved. So we excitedly told the owner that we'll take it, but he said that he already sold it!! I almost cried. 

So we found yet another apartment, and it's actually way nicer than the other one we found, so we've been pretty excited. We got all the information ASAP and things were looking good, until the São Paulo office closed for the winter break, and now it looks like we won't be able to move until next transfer, and I'll probably be gone by then. 

I've spent almost my entire time here in Brazil in this gross apartment. But it's ok, I've learned how to be happy in whatever circumstance! The termites don't even bug me anymore. And yesterday a giant cockroach flew inside and freaked us out super bad, but now it's just super funny. We still haven't found him yet, hopefully he left.. But anyways, I just love it here! I'm super sad that my time here is running out. 

Spiritual thought

One thing I've been learning is that the best things in life take work: Having a family, relationships, missionary work, gardening, hobbies, sports, etc. It's the work that makes it that much more rewarding! For example, you can always go buy cookies at the store, but it's always more special when you make it yourself. When hiking, it's the work that was put into climbing up the mountain that makes the view that much more amazing. It's the sacrifice of something that makes it precious! The test of life is to see if we are willing to put in the effort to receive God's greatest blessings. God has already given us so much, but to give us all that He has, we need to put in a little effort. That's why Salvation isn't an easy process! If we want to become as perfect as God is, we have to want it and strive for it. If good things come too easily, we won't fully appreciate them or enjoy them. So when life gets hard, just know that it's all for your eternal Joy! Literally everything God does is for you to be happy forever!! We get to choose if we want to receive more, or if we're content where we're at. So trust God and do what He asks, because it's all for your eternal benefit. Honestly, how can we be anything but grateful? 

I don't know if this email made any sense, I'm kind of forgetting english. But anyways, I love you all!! 

- Sister "Hydegie" 

Week 69 - Feliz ano novo!

Oi Pessoal!!

Sorry my pday ends in like 2 minutes so I don't have time to write anything. Here's a part of my journal that I pasted here, you can read it if you want. I gotta go, we have a lesson with Marta tonight! She finally kicked her boyfriend out of the house so now we're going to put here on date for baptism!!!

Até mais, tchau!! 

Today Marta and Alaor came to church! I sat by Alaor for the 2nd hour, and he was Bible-hoosiering me the whole time which was fun. He sat too close and he kept his eyes locked on mine, I think our record was 7 minutes straight. Irmã Rosita was kind of fed up with his chatter so she came up and patted him on the shoulder slightly aggressively and said "You need to talk quieter, we can all hear your conversation!" Oops. It was also funny in Sunday school, Alaor spent a good 10 mins really confused flipping through his Bible trying to find the book of Moses. So I explained to him that we have other books beside the Bible, because "We believe that God continues to talk to us through modern prophets and scripture!" So then I told him about the Book of Mormon and I gave him a copy that was in my bag, and he was like "this is a present for me? Ok then I want you to write a note inside and your signature saying that you gave it to me." I explained a little more about the Book of Mormon (literally my favorite thing to do ever) and he had lots of questions as he flipped through it. So that was fun! Alaor seems pretty elect. 

I like what President Nelson has said, something along the lines of "I don't think God cares so much about how many members there are in His church. What he cares about is how many people love Him and are willing to follow Him." When I first heard that I was like "What?? All we do as missionaries is try to grow the church, but God doesn't even care about that?" But over time I've realized that it's kind of true. All God really cares about is our heart, not which denomination we belong to. The church is here to help people come closer to Christ, and Christ's true church is essential to make covenants. But those things are only secondary. What really matters is that we let God prevail! 

A lot of missionaries here see all other churches as "great and abominable", like what they teach is all wrong and the people inside aren't open minded. But I don't think that's true. Other churches are full of great people who are doing their best and who are trying to follow the Savior. Alaor for example, has such a deep love for Christ, and he loves sharing the light he feels. He even went up and bore his testimony today! He's humble and open minded, and he has so much love for others too. After the meeting he greeted the members and thanked Irmã Lays for the lesson, and even went up to Irmã Rosita and apologized for talking too loud. I think Alaor has something a lot of people don't have. He may not have been raised in this church, but he's got the heart just as devoted as a lot of members I know. 

<3 Sister Wride

Pictures include:

- Some cool pictures of Campina Grande that a member sent to us

- Pretty flowers 

- Street goats

Week 68 - Feliz Natal

Oi! Feliz Natal para vocês! Christmas here was great. It was basically a normal work day. The members absolutely spoiled us with food! For christmas eve we had dinner with the stake patriarch and his wife at their farm "Fazenda Liahona" and it was muito chique. They live in the middle of nowhere and their house is probably the biggest I've ever seen in Paraíba. They made a ton of food and it was a good time. Here are some other updates if you're interested - 

Musica

Ok so apparently the word got out that I'm really good at piano (which is a lie, by the way) and so now the entire stake has been asking me to play piano for stuff. So far I've played for the primary program, the seminary and institute graduation, and a special musical number in sacrament meeting. And they hardly ever give me a heads up beforehand, so I end up sight reading, and it's kind of terrible. 

Flute has been going good though! Since it's christmas season, I've been bringing my flute to lessons to play for people, and they all think it's super cool because musical instruments are rare here. It's been super fun. 

Awkward text

So every day we have to send messages on Facebook asking people if they want to hear a message about Christ, and usually what we do is copy and paste the same message to everyone. The other day as I was messaging people I copied a message from this one lady to put it into google translate, but afterwards I forgot to re-copy my original text, and I continued to send out messages. It wasn't until the next day that I realized the message I sent out was 

"I'm okay, but I'm in need of help to hospitalize my son who is a drug user." 

When I saw what I sent and I was like "What?? Sister Lima, did you send this?" The lady I sent it to was super nice though and she responded with a little text message prayer and a voice recording saying "I'm so sorry, I will pray for you! I know that your son is a child of God. We have a prayer group tonight, do you want to join us so we can pray for your son?"

So yeah it was awkward. I'm not sure if I should try to explain that I don't actually have a son that is a drug user, or if I should just leave it. 

Comida

One of the things that Sister Lima and I like to do most is show each other different foods. I've taught Sister Lima how to make french toast, stuffing, and cinnamon rolls, and in return she has taught me how to make Brazilian foods like stroganoff, fricassê and pastel. And this week I learned how to make beans!! The way they make them here just hits different. People here say that you can't make beans without a pressure cooker, so I went out and bought one and Sister Lima taught me how to use it without it exploding. And it turned out so yummy!! I'll never eat canned beans ever again. I also learned how to make pudim this week! I'm so excited to cook for my family when I get home, I've been planning a Brazilian almoço for months. Get stoked. 

Rain maker

The other day when we opened our door it made a really weird noise like there was a bunch of rice inside falling down. We looked at each other like "What the heck" and then we realized that it was from the termites! They've eaten almost all of the interior of the door and turned it into a giant rainmaker. There may be more termites in our house than we thought o_o 

Spiritual thought

I've been learning a lot about the Savior recently. Usually it's hard for me to see who He really is and how He affects my life. There are lots of people who get super emotional just talking about Him and they say things like "Jesus is everything to me" and "He's my best friend" but I don't always feel like that. I hear about His sacrifice for us and I think more like "That was super nice of Him." but it just doesn't usually resonate with me. I want to have the same strong testimony like other people do, but it's just not fully there yet. So lately I've decided that I'm really going to try and learn about Christ. I want to learn about who He is and what His atonement really means. And as I've been studying and really pondering about it, I've actually learned a ton! And in the process I've noticed that I'm becoming a better person, and I'm more happy. Here's a scripture that really stood out to me this week: 

"^aDraw ^bnear unto me and I will draw near unto you; ^cseek me diligently and ye shall ^dfind me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." - D&C 88:63 

So this week I invite you guys to learn more about Christ this week! If you have the desire and diligently seek, you will find Him, and it will change your life!

Also if you guys could pray for Marta, she really needs prayers. 

Amo vocês!!

- Sister Wride

Week 66 -

 Oi! Sorry I don't have much time to write an email, but here's a short update for those who are interested: 

- I turned 21! Sister Lima made me a chocolate maracuja cake and it was SO good!!! I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it was amazing! 

- Our termite problem is getting worse and they've started to eat my scriptures :´( So now I'm keeping my scriptures in the refrigerator. 

- We put up some super cool christmas decorations (pics attached)

- We bought 100 coxinha for only R$30! (Coxinha is a super yummy brazilian food, go look it up. I'll make some for you all when I get home.) But it was kind of a rip off because they turned out to be pea-sized. 

- I played piano for church this sunday and it was slightly awful, but I survived. There were a few times where I got lost in the middle of a song, and stopped playing completely. It was kind of awkward

- We had a guy named Adriano come to church! Here's an excerpt from my journal because you know, I'm lazy: 

Maria Lucicleide and her boyfriend Adriano came!! They saw the note we left on their door yesterday and so they both made the long hike down. Adriano loved it!! He had only been there once before when Maria was baptized. Adriano is going through all sorts of problems. (I can only imagine, considering the tiny shack he lives in).

When we talked to him he was on the verge of tears. He told us "I've never felt this way in any other church I've been to." 

He said that a little while ago he went to a catholic church looking for help. There he kneeled in front of a statue and they prayed, and the priests did their little cross thing on him, but he didn't feel anything. He said "I left feeling the same way I did when I came in. I didn't feel any truth there. But here, I feel a difference. Eu sinto muito bem!" 

Alaor said he liked church too. He didn't seem as spiritually uplifted as Adriano though. It seems like Alaor was mostly there to observe. Sister Lima told me that he was taking pictures of José while he was being confirmed, which was kinda weird. Sister Lima and I got the vibe that he was being kind of judgemental. 

It's interesting to compare Alaor and Adriano. It was the same church meeting, but they had totally different reactions to it. There's Alaor, who knows a lot about the Bible, he's well off, very comfortable and content. He didn't feel much coming out from church. Adriano on the other hand, who is broken and has relatively nothing, feels changed and uplifted. Those who really see the gospel for what it is, and those who cling on to it, are usually those who are most humble. Take all the people Jesus taught, for example. The people who listened and accepted his teachings were the poor, the sinners, and the outcasts. The Pharisees however, those who should have been the most likely to listen to the Savior, rejected him. It's interesting how that works. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs are the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:3 

Love you all! I hope you have a wonderful day :) Beijos! 

 

- Sister Wride

Week 65 - My first baptism in Brazil!!

Oiie! 

Sorry I didn't write an email last week. Apparently facebook doesn't like online proselytizing and posting in 20 groups every day, so they disabled my account. So last P-day I spent the day panicking and trying to get back in. 

Things have been going great here! I'm loving it and I'm really excited for the people we're teaching. Here are some highlights from these last two weeks: 

• For thanksgiving introduced Sister Lima to stuffing and she gave it a 10/10 

• Our ant problem is finally gone, but has now been replaced with a termite problem. I'm not sure which is worse, but it's probably termites because these ones have wings and they like to fly into our faces. 

• One of our mission rules is that we can only use our phone when our companion can see our screen. As a mission, we haven't been doing very well at that, so now the rule is that in order to use our phone, our shoulders have to be touching. Definitely not my favorite thing ever, but oh well. 

• I've been assigned to play piano for the primary program this Sunday. If you know me, my piano skills are pretty limited, but I'm still the best option they have. Pray for me plz 

• We have this one investigator who is mega struggling, but this last week we were able to take him to institute! It was a miracle. Then he left early to go to a bar, so that was kinda disappointing :/ 

• Last Sunday we brought 5 people to church!!! It was amazing. We had José, Eduardo, Isac, Joaquim (the ani-Jesus dude), and Dinho (da Banana), and Martha!! It was probably the happiest day of my whole life!! 

• We had a baptism this last Sunday!! My first in Brazil. We met José just a few weeks ago, we taught him super fast, it was crazy! We taught him all the commandments in one lesson and he was just like "Sure I'll never drink coffee again, no problem". He accepted everything right away with no problem, and now he's one of the most active members in the ward! It's amazing how God prepares people. 

• Another awesome person we are teaching is Martha! She's got a whole story that would take too long to write out, but basically she's in an abusive relationship and her son is getting into drugs and other bad things, and we're pretty much the only friends she has here. We've only taught her one lesson, but she's already super into the Book of Mormon, and before we even said anything, she told us she wants to be baptized!!!  But she can't be baptized until she leaves the relationship she's in, so we've been secretly helping her get a job and find a house, without her boyfriend knowing. Not sure if we're breaking any mission rules, but yea. It's a sticky situation. 

Also it's kinda just dawned on me how little time I have left here. After this transfer, I'll only have 6 weeks left!! That's just crazy. We watched the other side of heaven this week (a story about an Elder who served in Tonga) and the scene of him leaving the island made me cry, just thinking about how in a few months I'll have to leave Brazil. I seriously love it here and I love the people. So now I'm really trying to give it my all and enjoy every moment, because time really does go by so fast! 

Wherever you're at, remember to enjoy the present moment and take advantage of it, because soon you'll look back and it will all be a faint dream. 

Love you all! Remember to read your scriptures today! 

- Sister Wride