Hello family! It was good to hear about how things are going for all of you. I love the stories and updates. Oh, by the way, all of my pictures from the MTC and my first transfer got wiped from my camera, so that's why you haven't seen pictures yet.
A lot has happened this week and it has been great. The Lord is really blessing us here. We had a goal to focus on our member present lessons and finding new investigators, so we worked really hard to achieve our goals. And through the blessing of the Lord we were able to do so. We had great lessons with our members and now Sara, who we were about to drop, because of the members, is going to church and every youth activity, as well as reading the Book of Mormon every day and wanting to meet with us. It has been a miracle and I am so excited for her. She needed friends in a bad way and the youth in this ward have really taken to her. I am so grateful for them.
On Sunday we were focusing on finding new investigators and so we had set up appointments with a lot of people who were potential investigators. So we went and taught João and Denise, and Denise was NOT excited about us being there. We had knocked into João last transfer. But throughout the lesson, she began listening more and more intently and was really excited about the Book of Mormon. So that was great. I could really see the Spirit softening her heart toward the message of the Restoration.
That night, everything had fallen through, as happens quite often, and so we were walking to try and teach a reference, who was not answering the phone. Then I had the thought that we needed to go teach Suali, so we turned around and went there. I thought that we would not be able to make our goal, but I am here on the Lord's errand and so I must do His work His way. So we went there and met William, who is renting a room from Suali and her husband. He came in during the middle of the lesson and was messing around in the kitchen very quietly, Suali was reading a verse in the Book of Mormon and I really felt like we needed to invite him to listen. So I did and he was so interested and was applying the scripture in his life (Helaman 5:12) and relating it to BIble stories. I felt like I was talking to a member by what he was saying. They got the address to the Church and, fortunately, Suali already had two copies of the Book of Mormon, so she was going to give one to William. He is very ready to hear this message.
Then Monday we were walking around and everything had fallen through. I kept thinking about this market here called Fly. We had gone there a month ago or so and talked to a cashier there. I couldn't get it out of my mind because I had had a dream the night before that we were there. I thought it was really weird, but I couldn't get it off of my mind. So we went to Fly and met Kleide. She is another cashier from Brasil whose brother is a member. She brought up the church and got the address and promised about 12 times that she was coming and for us to wait for her at the entrance. We taught her some of what we believe and she talked about how she needs church in her life and how unhappy she is right now. I am so excited to see her at church. She is so ready and I know that the Lord really wanted us to talk to her.
I am so grateful for the blessings that have been poured out on us here. The Lord is really taking me by the hand here. I cannot believe it. I know that I cannot do this on my own and am so grateful that He is here with me.
So funny story: Saturday, everything had fallen through again, so we were getting a little treat. We went to go get a chocolate crescent at a little store in Arrentela. As we were walking there this little group of kids was playing. One was on a plastic tricycle and started to beeline it towards us. He ran over Irmã Johnson's foot and kept following us. So we brushed it off and got our crescents. Then we went back to the park, as it is the only place to sit down there. So we ate our crescents and this kid came up and kicked me in the shin. Don't worry, he was only four so it didn't really hurt. Then he started wrestling his older cousins to the ground, pulling on their ears. He then came up and tried to steal my soda. Fortunately, the cat-like reflexes that Dad instilled in me by the handslapping game came in handy and I succeeded in guarding my soda. We finished up our crescents and went on our way. We went up some stairs and the little boy followed us there as well. I was still thinking, oh what a cute little boy just playing with his cousins. Then, out of nowhere, he came flying up another flight of stairs and latched himself on to me. I was thinking, oh, he wants a hug, okay, well I can get him off of me. Then he grabbed my arm and bit me. That's right. He bit me. Luckily, he did not bite that hard and it was no problem and his bigger cousin came up pulled him off of me. The life of a missionary is full of craziness.
Life is good here and I am learning a lot. I love you all and hope that you continue strong in the gospel! Have a great day!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Target Practice
Hello family! It was so good to hear from you and to see how everyone is doing. I am glad that the piano turned out. I am actually using my piano skills now too. I thought that would make you proud, Mom. I have to play for the Primary, so they gave me a piece to practice and I will be playing with them on Sunday. I have improved rapidly with practice. It's been nice to be doing something musical again.
This has been a good week so far. Last week was really hard, but the light at the end of the tunnel was zone conference. And it was amazing! We always have to prepare two talks and the topics were knowledge and the Atonement. I LOVED preparing my talks. Again, my companion was asked to speak. What can I say, I have the touch. President talked about the Atonement and throughout this transfer I have really started to see the Atonement becoming real in my life. More real than it has ever been in the past. I find myself relying on Christ, rather than on myself. I know that it is through Him that we can overcome all things and do all that we need to. The missionaries going home have the chance to give their "last testimonies," which really end up being words of advice, lessons learned and testimonies. My zone leader, Elder Hawkins, is going home, "dying," this transfer and so he gave his last testimony. It was weird to hear that because I am just beginning and he is ending. I could see just how short the time is here that I have and how I must make the most of it.
Saturday was soooo funny. Wow. By 1:00pm our entire day had fallen through and thus started the back-up plan. Wow. I had to figure everything out and we probably went through plans A-Z three times over. However, a series of funny events took place that made the day better. First, everything fell through so quickly. Then we got lost (my bad!). Then a random guy stopped his car in the middle of the road to talk to us and tell us that we were very pretty but that he didn't like President Bush. Seriously, he stopped his car in the middle of the road, just to say that? People are really funny. Then a drunk guy stopped us and wanted our number. We happily gave him a pass-along card with the office number on it. He kept turning the card over so it was upside down and trying to read it. Silly people. We admonished him to stop drinking and went on our way. A little later on in the day I pulled up the flap on my bag (I've downsized to John's little bag, which is perfect, thank you!) and felt something wet on my arm. Lo and behold, a bird had pooped on me and by some miracle, it only landed on my bag. The hits just kept on coming. But it made for a funny day. NOTHING worked out that day until that evening when we taught Deolande and gave her a Book of Mormon. That was great.
A theme/focus of this transfer is using members. Seriously, they make all the difference for the investigator. So Sunday I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of using the members and all the planning that it required, when suddenly church ended and I had set up a bunch of teaching appointments with members. It was only later, when I thought about it, that I realized how easy it had been and how the Lord had really helped me and held my hand along that process.
Yesterday we realized these lessons with members and they were AMAZING!!! The members were so great at friendshipping the investigator and helping them be comfortable. It was such a blessing. The lessons were 10X better because the member was helping with the teaching, relating with their own lives and helping with everything. Please talk to the missionaries in your wards and see if you can help them with teaching and fellowshipping. It will help them out so much.
Monday we had a district meeting with the zone leaders. I was in charge of the language lesson (again). I think I may be in charge of the language lessons in district meetings my whole mission. I have already done it about half of the meetings we've had. And I guess Elder Hawkins liked the lesson last transfer and asked me again. So this time I created a game! Let's make learning fun! So I made them practice giving directions and judged them on their creativity. They were all hopping around and being silly, while still learning.
That day Elder Smith was on a division here with Elder Holmes. The four of us went to the home of Humberto and Maria de Luz. They have two kids, Italo and Ingrid, who are SOOO cute! They are in the youth program. This family has had a lot of inactivity problems, so both sets of missioanries are working with them. We had a BLAST at their house. I love this family so much. They are Brazilian and they love that I love Brazil. Plus their accents are soooo cute! We played games, ate great food and laughed a lot. Elder Smith accidentally put on WAY WAY WAY too much piri piri sauce on his spaghetti. Whoops! His mouth was on fire and there was nothing he could really do about it. So what did the other three of us do? Of course, we put on some piri piri sauce on our food just to see how hot it was. I only put on three drops and it BURNED. Woah dang! It's fun for me to be around the elders. I feel like I have a bunch of little brothers.
This week I get to go to the office to work on renewing my visa. I get to see all of my elders from the MTC!! YAY! I'm super excited to see them and talk to them again.
Things are going well here. I know that the Lord is really taking me by the hand with the work here. There is no way that I, being as inexperienced and un-fluent in Portuguese as I still am, could be doing all that I am right now. I am not alone in the work I am doing here. He is right here beside me, as He is with all of you in whatsoever you are endeavoring to do. I love you all! Have a great week!
This has been a good week so far. Last week was really hard, but the light at the end of the tunnel was zone conference. And it was amazing! We always have to prepare two talks and the topics were knowledge and the Atonement. I LOVED preparing my talks. Again, my companion was asked to speak. What can I say, I have the touch. President talked about the Atonement and throughout this transfer I have really started to see the Atonement becoming real in my life. More real than it has ever been in the past. I find myself relying on Christ, rather than on myself. I know that it is through Him that we can overcome all things and do all that we need to. The missionaries going home have the chance to give their "last testimonies," which really end up being words of advice, lessons learned and testimonies. My zone leader, Elder Hawkins, is going home, "dying," this transfer and so he gave his last testimony. It was weird to hear that because I am just beginning and he is ending. I could see just how short the time is here that I have and how I must make the most of it.
Saturday was soooo funny. Wow. By 1:00pm our entire day had fallen through and thus started the back-up plan. Wow. I had to figure everything out and we probably went through plans A-Z three times over. However, a series of funny events took place that made the day better. First, everything fell through so quickly. Then we got lost (my bad!). Then a random guy stopped his car in the middle of the road to talk to us and tell us that we were very pretty but that he didn't like President Bush. Seriously, he stopped his car in the middle of the road, just to say that? People are really funny. Then a drunk guy stopped us and wanted our number. We happily gave him a pass-along card with the office number on it. He kept turning the card over so it was upside down and trying to read it. Silly people. We admonished him to stop drinking and went on our way. A little later on in the day I pulled up the flap on my bag (I've downsized to John's little bag, which is perfect, thank you!) and felt something wet on my arm. Lo and behold, a bird had pooped on me and by some miracle, it only landed on my bag. The hits just kept on coming. But it made for a funny day. NOTHING worked out that day until that evening when we taught Deolande and gave her a Book of Mormon. That was great.
A theme/focus of this transfer is using members. Seriously, they make all the difference for the investigator. So Sunday I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of using the members and all the planning that it required, when suddenly church ended and I had set up a bunch of teaching appointments with members. It was only later, when I thought about it, that I realized how easy it had been and how the Lord had really helped me and held my hand along that process.
Yesterday we realized these lessons with members and they were AMAZING!!! The members were so great at friendshipping the investigator and helping them be comfortable. It was such a blessing. The lessons were 10X better because the member was helping with the teaching, relating with their own lives and helping with everything. Please talk to the missionaries in your wards and see if you can help them with teaching and fellowshipping. It will help them out so much.
Monday we had a district meeting with the zone leaders. I was in charge of the language lesson (again). I think I may be in charge of the language lessons in district meetings my whole mission. I have already done it about half of the meetings we've had. And I guess Elder Hawkins liked the lesson last transfer and asked me again. So this time I created a game! Let's make learning fun! So I made them practice giving directions and judged them on their creativity. They were all hopping around and being silly, while still learning.
That day Elder Smith was on a division here with Elder Holmes. The four of us went to the home of Humberto and Maria de Luz. They have two kids, Italo and Ingrid, who are SOOO cute! They are in the youth program. This family has had a lot of inactivity problems, so both sets of missioanries are working with them. We had a BLAST at their house. I love this family so much. They are Brazilian and they love that I love Brazil. Plus their accents are soooo cute! We played games, ate great food and laughed a lot. Elder Smith accidentally put on WAY WAY WAY too much piri piri sauce on his spaghetti. Whoops! His mouth was on fire and there was nothing he could really do about it. So what did the other three of us do? Of course, we put on some piri piri sauce on our food just to see how hot it was. I only put on three drops and it BURNED. Woah dang! It's fun for me to be around the elders. I feel like I have a bunch of little brothers.
This week I get to go to the office to work on renewing my visa. I get to see all of my elders from the MTC!! YAY! I'm super excited to see them and talk to them again.
Things are going well here. I know that the Lord is really taking me by the hand with the work here. There is no way that I, being as inexperienced and un-fluent in Portuguese as I still am, could be doing all that I am right now. I am not alone in the work I am doing here. He is right here beside me, as He is with all of you in whatsoever you are endeavoring to do. I love you all! Have a great week!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Divisions, Street Meeting and Getting Lost
Hello family! It was so great to be able to talk to all of you at the same time! YAY! I was reminded of when we were able to do sealings together. What a blessing modern technology is. Look I get to email on my mission!
Things are going well here in "Seixal" (I've only actually been to Seixal twice since I've been here). We are still searching out for people to teach and continuing to help those we are teaching progress. It's a process. Fredy still wants to be baptized, but he hasn't been coming to church, so he probably won't be able to be baptized on the 31st, but we will keep working with him to help him prepare for baptism. We haven't been able to meet with Marcelo, but he has been reading from the Book of Mormon, which is a great sign of progress with him. Alzira has been coming to church as well the past couple of weeks with her daughter Marisa. I sat by them at church and Marisa was trying so hard to be good, so I ended up drawing with her and learning lots of new words. She seemed to appreciate the time I took with her.
Kelson and Ana are doing well. Kelson understands the gospel and the scriptures so well for someone who has been a member for only three months! He's amazing and has the best attitude about life. The life of an imigrant is not an easy one here, but he is always so happy and smiley and asks us what he can do for us. Ana is amazing as always, but is not looking forward to moving to England next Sunday. I will miss her, but I know that Pedro will take good care to nurture her in the gospel there.
I have found that I am working with a lot of less active women here over the past couple of weeks. I love visiting them and showing them the love i have for them. I am blessed with great love and compassion for them and I feel that one reason that I am here inthe Seixal area is for them. To nurture and bring them back to the fold.
Last week we did a division with the irmas in Almada. I went down to Almada with Irma Rasmussen and Irma Johnson stayed here and went with Irma Marinho. I had a great time on the division. I loved working in a different area and getting to know new people. Irma Rasmussen is great and kept me laughing. She is also a great cook, though her garlic biscuits were not my favorite thing...We're planning on doing another division this transfer with the irmas in Setúbal with Irma Kava and Irma Vea, who are actually cousins.
Monday Irma Johnson wasn't feeling well, so we stayed in most of the day. I got a lot of reading done and I felt like I was back at the MTC.
Yesterday was a day of getting lost. My goodness. Totally all my fault. I am the one who is supposed to know the area, but I kept taking us the long way to get everywhere. We probably walked a few miles extra because I kept taking the roundabout way there. We then found out that the zone was doing a street meeting down in Cacilhas, so we went down there with them and that was so fun! We did street contacts and talked about how important family is and how we can do family history.
So as an irma I tend to talk more to women on the streets. I just feel more comfortable with them and this is why. So on Sunday I contacted this guy who looked nice and receptive, which he was, but I think he was just more curious about the fact that I was female and American than the gospel. He kept inching closer when he was talking and I kept inching further and further back. We said goodbye and I put a little X by his contact information. Yesterday at the street meeting Irma Rasmussen and I contacted this guy from Senegal. We ended up speaking to him in English because his Portuguese wasn't very good. We talked to him about families in the gospel and then he asked if we had boyfriends. To which we replied, why yes we do. So family, in case you didn't know it. I have a boyfriend back in the States waiting to marry me when I get home. Oh the funny life of a sister missionary!
Yesterday I got told I was not going to be saved for the first time! We got into the house of this woman and we taught her the first lesson, with a LOT of interruptions on her part about her opinions about other religions, which were not favorable. Apparently, she didn't really like ours either. One thing is for sure, I walked away from that experience with a stronger testimony about the priesthood and the blessing that it is for all of us.
Life is good here. I am finding myself learning so much every day and I know that through striving to do my best, I will be able to do this work through the Lord, who is the source of all strength. We can do all things through Him. I know that the trials we have are for us to grow and to learn and that the Lord qualifies us through them. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Things are going well here in "Seixal" (I've only actually been to Seixal twice since I've been here). We are still searching out for people to teach and continuing to help those we are teaching progress. It's a process. Fredy still wants to be baptized, but he hasn't been coming to church, so he probably won't be able to be baptized on the 31st, but we will keep working with him to help him prepare for baptism. We haven't been able to meet with Marcelo, but he has been reading from the Book of Mormon, which is a great sign of progress with him. Alzira has been coming to church as well the past couple of weeks with her daughter Marisa. I sat by them at church and Marisa was trying so hard to be good, so I ended up drawing with her and learning lots of new words. She seemed to appreciate the time I took with her.
Kelson and Ana are doing well. Kelson understands the gospel and the scriptures so well for someone who has been a member for only three months! He's amazing and has the best attitude about life. The life of an imigrant is not an easy one here, but he is always so happy and smiley and asks us what he can do for us. Ana is amazing as always, but is not looking forward to moving to England next Sunday. I will miss her, but I know that Pedro will take good care to nurture her in the gospel there.
I have found that I am working with a lot of less active women here over the past couple of weeks. I love visiting them and showing them the love i have for them. I am blessed with great love and compassion for them and I feel that one reason that I am here inthe Seixal area is for them. To nurture and bring them back to the fold.
Last week we did a division with the irmas in Almada. I went down to Almada with Irma Rasmussen and Irma Johnson stayed here and went with Irma Marinho. I had a great time on the division. I loved working in a different area and getting to know new people. Irma Rasmussen is great and kept me laughing. She is also a great cook, though her garlic biscuits were not my favorite thing...We're planning on doing another division this transfer with the irmas in Setúbal with Irma Kava and Irma Vea, who are actually cousins.
Monday Irma Johnson wasn't feeling well, so we stayed in most of the day. I got a lot of reading done and I felt like I was back at the MTC.
Yesterday was a day of getting lost. My goodness. Totally all my fault. I am the one who is supposed to know the area, but I kept taking us the long way to get everywhere. We probably walked a few miles extra because I kept taking the roundabout way there. We then found out that the zone was doing a street meeting down in Cacilhas, so we went down there with them and that was so fun! We did street contacts and talked about how important family is and how we can do family history.
So as an irma I tend to talk more to women on the streets. I just feel more comfortable with them and this is why. So on Sunday I contacted this guy who looked nice and receptive, which he was, but I think he was just more curious about the fact that I was female and American than the gospel. He kept inching closer when he was talking and I kept inching further and further back. We said goodbye and I put a little X by his contact information. Yesterday at the street meeting Irma Rasmussen and I contacted this guy from Senegal. We ended up speaking to him in English because his Portuguese wasn't very good. We talked to him about families in the gospel and then he asked if we had boyfriends. To which we replied, why yes we do. So family, in case you didn't know it. I have a boyfriend back in the States waiting to marry me when I get home. Oh the funny life of a sister missionary!
Yesterday I got told I was not going to be saved for the first time! We got into the house of this woman and we taught her the first lesson, with a LOT of interruptions on her part about her opinions about other religions, which were not favorable. Apparently, she didn't really like ours either. One thing is for sure, I walked away from that experience with a stronger testimony about the priesthood and the blessing that it is for all of us.
Life is good here. I am finding myself learning so much every day and I know that through striving to do my best, I will be able to do this work through the Lord, who is the source of all strength. We can do all things through Him. I know that the trials we have are for us to grow and to learn and that the Lord qualifies us through them. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Piri, Piri, A Baptism and Transfers
Hello family! It was so nice to hear from all of you today. It is so great to hear what is going on and to be able to laugh at the funny stories that are going on in your lives. I am very blessed to have all of you in my life. I love you all so much.
This past week we had Ana's baptism. It was so nice and went so well. We spent a great portion of the week preparing for the baptism, which included getting the program done, which took forever, and preparing a musical number, which took forever. We practiced a song for me to sing because we couldn't find a violin anywhere, but then at the last minute we found one, so we played " A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" which was pretty well done. Irmã Brady did a great job of getting the piano part down pretty quickly.
We finally met Ana's boyfriend, Pedro, who baptized her. He is great and was a fantastic missionary in Porto. We had a really fun time with them the night before her baptism. We ate dinner and played games. Her brother and his girlfriend were there and we were able to have a gospel discusison during dinner, which was great because it was really low key and we taught really important principles about the Plan of Salvation. Her brother, Ricardo, is hilarious! He couldnt make it to her baptism or confirmation, but I'm going to try and get him going in church.
Oh! Transfers! I am staying here in Seixal and so is Elder Gardner, but Irmã Brady is going to the AÇORES! Woah. She's afraid of the ocean and of flying, so President had to make sure that she would be able to handle going there. Elder Xidis is going zone leader and he's headed up to somewhere in Lisbon to be companions with Elder Halling, whose older sister Anna-Lisa was my Portuguese teacher. She was rad. Irmã Johnson is coming up from the Algarve to "greenie break" me and Elder Holmes is coming up to be my district leader. Lots of changes going on here in Seixal, but I'm really excited to work with Irmã Johnson, though I will really miss Irmã Brady. We've become good friends and laugh a lot together.
The baptism was great though. The camera girls came and filmed the whole thing, but not the baptism itself. Ana was so happy and so was Pedro. She is so amazing and I'm so sad that she's moving to England in a month. She's so great and has become a great friend.
Monday we all got together as a zone to have a zone meeting. It was fantastic. First I love my zone and all of the missionaries in it. It's so nice to get together with other missionaries and see what they are doing. We had a couple of talks given by the district leaders and Elder Davis spoke to us about giving a consistent and diligent effort, which I think is something we can do all of our lives. We talked later about the people who have been the "saviors" with a lower-case "s" in our lives. It was so interesting to see the influence that one person can have in our lives. I really hope that I can make that difference for someone here. The whole meeting was so edifying and I feel a greater desire to do all I can as a missionary.
After the meeting we had lunch! We at tacos, which was fantastic. It was nice to have something different to eat. The food here is fabulous, but it's all pretty much the same, so it's nice to mix it up a bit sometimes. Then afterword, some of the elders, Elders Mortensen, Flint and Coombs, decided to eat a piri piri. A piri piri is a really really hot pepper. So they each ate one straight up. I took pictures and then bemoaned the fact that I didn't take part in it, so Irmã Brady gave me a little prodding and so I decided to take the plunge myself and eat a piri piri. I, of course, didn't want to do it by myself so I make Elder Marriott do it with me. I was smart and didn't drink too much when I ate it, knowing that it made it worse, but Elder Marriott wasn't, poor guy. It was like fire though. Wow. It was really hot, but a good experience. However, I got a bit of a headache afterwords, so trade off there.
Life is good here. Our investigators are doing alright. None of them came to church on Sunday. Leo and Renata are working in Lisbon, so they can't come down. Celeste is still reading the Book of Mormon and progressing as is Renata.
I am loving my life and feel such satisfaction in this work. My Portuguese is coming along pretty well and I've been very blessed. I love you all! Have a great week!
This past week we had Ana's baptism. It was so nice and went so well. We spent a great portion of the week preparing for the baptism, which included getting the program done, which took forever, and preparing a musical number, which took forever. We practiced a song for me to sing because we couldn't find a violin anywhere, but then at the last minute we found one, so we played " A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" which was pretty well done. Irmã Brady did a great job of getting the piano part down pretty quickly.
We finally met Ana's boyfriend, Pedro, who baptized her. He is great and was a fantastic missionary in Porto. We had a really fun time with them the night before her baptism. We ate dinner and played games. Her brother and his girlfriend were there and we were able to have a gospel discusison during dinner, which was great because it was really low key and we taught really important principles about the Plan of Salvation. Her brother, Ricardo, is hilarious! He couldnt make it to her baptism or confirmation, but I'm going to try and get him going in church.
Oh! Transfers! I am staying here in Seixal and so is Elder Gardner, but Irmã Brady is going to the AÇORES! Woah. She's afraid of the ocean and of flying, so President had to make sure that she would be able to handle going there. Elder Xidis is going zone leader and he's headed up to somewhere in Lisbon to be companions with Elder Halling, whose older sister Anna-Lisa was my Portuguese teacher. She was rad. Irmã Johnson is coming up from the Algarve to "greenie break" me and Elder Holmes is coming up to be my district leader. Lots of changes going on here in Seixal, but I'm really excited to work with Irmã Johnson, though I will really miss Irmã Brady. We've become good friends and laugh a lot together.
The baptism was great though. The camera girls came and filmed the whole thing, but not the baptism itself. Ana was so happy and so was Pedro. She is so amazing and I'm so sad that she's moving to England in a month. She's so great and has become a great friend.
Monday we all got together as a zone to have a zone meeting. It was fantastic. First I love my zone and all of the missionaries in it. It's so nice to get together with other missionaries and see what they are doing. We had a couple of talks given by the district leaders and Elder Davis spoke to us about giving a consistent and diligent effort, which I think is something we can do all of our lives. We talked later about the people who have been the "saviors" with a lower-case "s" in our lives. It was so interesting to see the influence that one person can have in our lives. I really hope that I can make that difference for someone here. The whole meeting was so edifying and I feel a greater desire to do all I can as a missionary.
After the meeting we had lunch! We at tacos, which was fantastic. It was nice to have something different to eat. The food here is fabulous, but it's all pretty much the same, so it's nice to mix it up a bit sometimes. Then afterword, some of the elders, Elders Mortensen, Flint and Coombs, decided to eat a piri piri. A piri piri is a really really hot pepper. So they each ate one straight up. I took pictures and then bemoaned the fact that I didn't take part in it, so Irmã Brady gave me a little prodding and so I decided to take the plunge myself and eat a piri piri. I, of course, didn't want to do it by myself so I make Elder Marriott do it with me. I was smart and didn't drink too much when I ate it, knowing that it made it worse, but Elder Marriott wasn't, poor guy. It was like fire though. Wow. It was really hot, but a good experience. However, I got a bit of a headache afterwords, so trade off there.
Life is good here. Our investigators are doing alright. None of them came to church on Sunday. Leo and Renata are working in Lisbon, so they can't come down. Celeste is still reading the Book of Mormon and progressing as is Renata.
I am loving my life and feel such satisfaction in this work. My Portuguese is coming along pretty well and I've been very blessed. I love you all! Have a great week!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Crisis Overted and a Documentary
Hello family! Sorry this is coming to you a little later than usual, but we were in Lisbon on a division, so we waited to do email until the end of p-day. It was so good to hear from all of you. Oh, I think an email might not have gotten out last week, so if one of you didn't get one, it just didn't go through. Thank you all for keeping me updated on everything!
Well, it's been an interesting week here in Seixal, Cruz de Pau, Arrentela, Torre da Marinha. We have been busy as usual, but a LOT of things have fallen through for us. There have been these three girls who have been following the mission for a few months making a documentary. They met us when we got off of the plane to Lisbon and they followed our orientation and things like it. They talked to Irma Brady my first day about following us around for a day and wrote down our number. I didn't think anything of it, until they called about two weeks ago to take us up on the offer. They ended up following us around all day on Thursday. It was a little weird at first to have them with a camera constantly on us, but I just got used to it and to them. They are great girls who have graduated and just want experience. They chose to do a documentary on the Church because they wanted Portugal to see what the Church is all about. They aren't members but were intruigued with us. They want Portugal to see the good things that we do and the good people that we are.
It was so funny to see how people reacted to the camera. We had set up a bunch of appointments and let them know that the camera would be there so they wouldn't freak out. So we were going to our first appointment with Carmen, who is a member, and these kids started yelling, trying to get the attention of the camera. All day when we were out and about people were either avoiding us more than usual, or they were flocking to us so they too could be on camera.
The people we taught all reacted so differently and it was funny to notice. I didn't find it difficult to just be normal, but everyone was so different. Carmen had put on her best clothes and fixed up her house all nicely. Sofia and Junior acted like a perfect family and had made a cake for us to eat. Celeste was herself, which I expected, and so was Ana. Everyone was just a little bit different and put their best self forward. It was an interesting day to observe how people react.
The lessons we taught went well, but we were teaching Celeste the 2nd lesson, which is the Plan of Salvation. I felt so distinctly that these girls, who I think may be atheist or agnostic, were listening very closely. I felt the whole time that we were really giving the lesson to them. I really think that this message touched their hearts.
They are planning on coming to Ana's baptism this Saturday to document what goes on. I liked them so much and am so glad they are coming back. Speaking of the baptism...Ana is doing great! We ahve been able to see her pretty often and teach her all that she needs to have learned before her baptism. She is so excited and so ready to be baptized. Her boyfriend, Pedro, should be back from England now and will baptize her. Every time I talk to her my testimony grows. She was so prepared for this great step and change inher life. She tells us all the time how much happier she is now because of the Church and the gospel in her life. She's become a really good friend and I can't wait for her baptism. I realize I have't put up any pictures. I'll make sure to do that next week for you all. Sorry!
Leo and Renata are doing pretty well. Renata found a job in Lisbon, so we haven't seen her in a long time. I don't know when we'll be able to see her, but I'm glad she was able to find a job. Leo is still waiting for his paperwork to go through, but he is doing well. He and his friend Marcelo came to church on Sunday and we're going to talk with them this coming Sunday, I think.
That's pretty much it on the progression chart. Celeste is still doing well and reading from the Book of Mormon each day. I think she knows it's true. She says she always feels good about it, but she hasn't prayed yet. I think she's afraid to and she can't come to church because of work. We asked her if she could trade shifts and she said no, so we're going to continue to work with her on that.
Over the weekend we helped overt a crisis. Our relief society president is Salita. She's been a member for about 8 months. Yeah. She got way overloaded and decided that she was not going back to church, so we talked to her for a long while on Saturday and encouraged her to go to church. Fortunately, she was there on Sunday and everything was smoothed over. She also went to our mini MTC that night, which was AWESOME! I think it was done so well. It would be great to do back home, I think.
Next week are transfers so we'll see what happens. Oh! I did divisions yesterday in Lisbon! It was great! I worked with Irma Bradford, who is SUPER quiet and timid, so I got to speak a little more and kind of take the lead. We got into a door and taught the first lesson. It went SOOO well! I am excited to hear about the progress of Jane. I got to talk to so many people yesterday on the streets and there was one woman who was super receptive. It was great to see how other misisonaries work and to see just how much I am capable of when given the chance.
I can't think of any funny stories right now. Sorry! Just know that they happen and that that people here do the craziest things sometimes. As does my hair. It is crazy here. It makes perfect ringlets all around and is SOOO curly! Everyone comments on it and yesterday I was told that I looked a lot younger than 21 because of my hair. That's never happened before.
Everything is great here. I love you all and I hope that life continues to go well!
Well, it's been an interesting week here in Seixal, Cruz de Pau, Arrentela, Torre da Marinha. We have been busy as usual, but a LOT of things have fallen through for us. There have been these three girls who have been following the mission for a few months making a documentary. They met us when we got off of the plane to Lisbon and they followed our orientation and things like it. They talked to Irma Brady my first day about following us around for a day and wrote down our number. I didn't think anything of it, until they called about two weeks ago to take us up on the offer. They ended up following us around all day on Thursday. It was a little weird at first to have them with a camera constantly on us, but I just got used to it and to them. They are great girls who have graduated and just want experience. They chose to do a documentary on the Church because they wanted Portugal to see what the Church is all about. They aren't members but were intruigued with us. They want Portugal to see the good things that we do and the good people that we are.
It was so funny to see how people reacted to the camera. We had set up a bunch of appointments and let them know that the camera would be there so they wouldn't freak out. So we were going to our first appointment with Carmen, who is a member, and these kids started yelling, trying to get the attention of the camera. All day when we were out and about people were either avoiding us more than usual, or they were flocking to us so they too could be on camera.
The people we taught all reacted so differently and it was funny to notice. I didn't find it difficult to just be normal, but everyone was so different. Carmen had put on her best clothes and fixed up her house all nicely. Sofia and Junior acted like a perfect family and had made a cake for us to eat. Celeste was herself, which I expected, and so was Ana. Everyone was just a little bit different and put their best self forward. It was an interesting day to observe how people react.
The lessons we taught went well, but we were teaching Celeste the 2nd lesson, which is the Plan of Salvation. I felt so distinctly that these girls, who I think may be atheist or agnostic, were listening very closely. I felt the whole time that we were really giving the lesson to them. I really think that this message touched their hearts.
They are planning on coming to Ana's baptism this Saturday to document what goes on. I liked them so much and am so glad they are coming back. Speaking of the baptism...Ana is doing great! We ahve been able to see her pretty often and teach her all that she needs to have learned before her baptism. She is so excited and so ready to be baptized. Her boyfriend, Pedro, should be back from England now and will baptize her. Every time I talk to her my testimony grows. She was so prepared for this great step and change inher life. She tells us all the time how much happier she is now because of the Church and the gospel in her life. She's become a really good friend and I can't wait for her baptism. I realize I have't put up any pictures. I'll make sure to do that next week for you all. Sorry!
Leo and Renata are doing pretty well. Renata found a job in Lisbon, so we haven't seen her in a long time. I don't know when we'll be able to see her, but I'm glad she was able to find a job. Leo is still waiting for his paperwork to go through, but he is doing well. He and his friend Marcelo came to church on Sunday and we're going to talk with them this coming Sunday, I think.
That's pretty much it on the progression chart. Celeste is still doing well and reading from the Book of Mormon each day. I think she knows it's true. She says she always feels good about it, but she hasn't prayed yet. I think she's afraid to and she can't come to church because of work. We asked her if she could trade shifts and she said no, so we're going to continue to work with her on that.
Over the weekend we helped overt a crisis. Our relief society president is Salita. She's been a member for about 8 months. Yeah. She got way overloaded and decided that she was not going back to church, so we talked to her for a long while on Saturday and encouraged her to go to church. Fortunately, she was there on Sunday and everything was smoothed over. She also went to our mini MTC that night, which was AWESOME! I think it was done so well. It would be great to do back home, I think.
Next week are transfers so we'll see what happens. Oh! I did divisions yesterday in Lisbon! It was great! I worked with Irma Bradford, who is SUPER quiet and timid, so I got to speak a little more and kind of take the lead. We got into a door and taught the first lesson. It went SOOO well! I am excited to hear about the progress of Jane. I got to talk to so many people yesterday on the streets and there was one woman who was super receptive. It was great to see how other misisonaries work and to see just how much I am capable of when given the chance.
I can't think of any funny stories right now. Sorry! Just know that they happen and that that people here do the craziest things sometimes. As does my hair. It is crazy here. It makes perfect ringlets all around and is SOOO curly! Everyone comments on it and yesterday I was told that I looked a lot younger than 21 because of my hair. That's never happened before.
Everything is great here. I love you all and I hope that life continues to go well!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Michael Jackson and Elder Gardner
Hello family! I can't believe that there was a tornado in Allen! All those years that we lived in Kansas and there was never a problem, and all of the years that we've lived in Texas. I am so grateful that everyone is okay and that there wasn't any damage. That is truly a blessing. And now there are great opportunities for service! Yay! Happy tax day to you all as well. Oh and guess what! Today is my 3-month mark! It seems so short and so long as well. I've also been here in Portugal exactly four weeks.
It's been a good week here in Portugal. We've really seen progression with our investigators. Leo has a sister, Renata, who we have also been teaching. In the past she's kind of blown us off and not kept committments or appointments, but we met with her last week and she's really had a change of heart. She and Leo came from Brasil about 8 months ago and still haven't been able to find jobs. Life is really hard here in Portugal for a lot of people. There are no jobs to be found and those who have jobs work 6 or 7 days a week, all day, with little pay. But this trial that Renata and Leo are going through has really effected them in different ways. Renata has been turning more to the Lord and been relying on Him. She wanted her own copy of the Book of Mormon and has been reading it. She's been coming to church, she's been coming to appointments and is really progressing. I can see the gospel really passing through her and entering her heart. Leo has been reading as well, we think. He has been avoiding us and still has some distance to go before he can let the gospel bless his life the way that it as Renata's. He needs to let it in and no one can do that except him.
Celeste is doing really really well. She continues to read from the Book of Mormon each day and is really searching. We are focusing with her on praying to know if it is true. I think she's a little scared to know, but I know that she will find for herself that it is true if she asks our Father in Heaven. She needs the gospel in a bad way right now and I think we found her at just the right time for her. The Lord really led us to her.
Ana is doing FANTASTIC! She is so incredible! I am so blessed to be able to learn from her. She is so friendly and nice to everyone in the Church and is so willing to do all that she needs to do to be ready to be baptized next week. She brightens my day every time I talk with her. The Lord really prepared her to learn about the gospel. I think she was friends with every member of the Church her age growing up. What a blessing. I can't wait for her baptism, and what's even better is that she can't wait either.
I have really been SOOO blessed with my communication skills. I can really understand what is giong on around me and my own speaking has improved quite rapidly. I can get my point across and do it correctly. I am figuring out my mistakes and am able to be understood. YAY!
This week for our district meeting, the elders, Elder Gardner and Elder Xidis, pulled out a bunch of unshelled peas. And we shelled peas...for an hour. Point of the activity? I still don't know. The elders came up with some analogy that we are trying to find those peas and shell them, but we all have to do it in different ways. I just got green fingers and dirty nails. But wait, it gets even better. That night we went over to Jacinta's (who is the mom of one of our members, Salita), and what were they doing over there? you may ask. They were shelling peas. So Irmã Brady and I shelled peas, again. I am quite apt at this now.
This has been a week of weird lessons. We started saying the prayer for a lesson and a party walked in on us. That was awkward. It's hard to get people on task here to teach them, well those who are progressing, it isn't difficult, but teaching those who aren't, it's an uphill battle to get the lesson taught. Oy veh.
Last night we had a Family Night. It was SOOO fun! We had a great conversation at the table and Irmã Brady and I were making everyone laugh. Ana started calling Elder Gardner, who is really awkward at times and SOOOO white, Michael Jackson. Then she'd start singing a Michael Jackson song. So funny. We laughed a lot last night and I can actually be funny in Portuguese as well as English! Yay! Well, one might argue that I'm not that funny, but I think I am, and what's better, so does Irmã Brady. She calls me a muppet. Apparently I make muppet faces. Thanks a lot, Dad.
Life is good here in Portugal. There are ups and downs, but being able to see the difference the gospel has in peoples' lives is what makes the bad times bearable. I love this work and I love all of you! Have a great week!
It's been a good week here in Portugal. We've really seen progression with our investigators. Leo has a sister, Renata, who we have also been teaching. In the past she's kind of blown us off and not kept committments or appointments, but we met with her last week and she's really had a change of heart. She and Leo came from Brasil about 8 months ago and still haven't been able to find jobs. Life is really hard here in Portugal for a lot of people. There are no jobs to be found and those who have jobs work 6 or 7 days a week, all day, with little pay. But this trial that Renata and Leo are going through has really effected them in different ways. Renata has been turning more to the Lord and been relying on Him. She wanted her own copy of the Book of Mormon and has been reading it. She's been coming to church, she's been coming to appointments and is really progressing. I can see the gospel really passing through her and entering her heart. Leo has been reading as well, we think. He has been avoiding us and still has some distance to go before he can let the gospel bless his life the way that it as Renata's. He needs to let it in and no one can do that except him.
Celeste is doing really really well. She continues to read from the Book of Mormon each day and is really searching. We are focusing with her on praying to know if it is true. I think she's a little scared to know, but I know that she will find for herself that it is true if she asks our Father in Heaven. She needs the gospel in a bad way right now and I think we found her at just the right time for her. The Lord really led us to her.
Ana is doing FANTASTIC! She is so incredible! I am so blessed to be able to learn from her. She is so friendly and nice to everyone in the Church and is so willing to do all that she needs to do to be ready to be baptized next week. She brightens my day every time I talk with her. The Lord really prepared her to learn about the gospel. I think she was friends with every member of the Church her age growing up. What a blessing. I can't wait for her baptism, and what's even better is that she can't wait either.
I have really been SOOO blessed with my communication skills. I can really understand what is giong on around me and my own speaking has improved quite rapidly. I can get my point across and do it correctly. I am figuring out my mistakes and am able to be understood. YAY!
This week for our district meeting, the elders, Elder Gardner and Elder Xidis, pulled out a bunch of unshelled peas. And we shelled peas...for an hour. Point of the activity? I still don't know. The elders came up with some analogy that we are trying to find those peas and shell them, but we all have to do it in different ways. I just got green fingers and dirty nails. But wait, it gets even better. That night we went over to Jacinta's (who is the mom of one of our members, Salita), and what were they doing over there? you may ask. They were shelling peas. So Irmã Brady and I shelled peas, again. I am quite apt at this now.
This has been a week of weird lessons. We started saying the prayer for a lesson and a party walked in on us. That was awkward. It's hard to get people on task here to teach them, well those who are progressing, it isn't difficult, but teaching those who aren't, it's an uphill battle to get the lesson taught. Oy veh.
Last night we had a Family Night. It was SOOO fun! We had a great conversation at the table and Irmã Brady and I were making everyone laugh. Ana started calling Elder Gardner, who is really awkward at times and SOOOO white, Michael Jackson. Then she'd start singing a Michael Jackson song. So funny. We laughed a lot last night and I can actually be funny in Portuguese as well as English! Yay! Well, one might argue that I'm not that funny, but I think I am, and what's better, so does Irmã Brady. She calls me a muppet. Apparently I make muppet faces. Thanks a lot, Dad.
Life is good here in Portugal. There are ups and downs, but being able to see the difference the gospel has in peoples' lives is what makes the bad times bearable. I love this work and I love all of you! Have a great week!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
A Week of Conference
Hello family! I am so blessed to have a family who knows me so well. I got two updates that Kansas won the NCAA tournament. I knew that they would win this year. Seriously. I knew that since I was serving a mission they would win. The one year I didn't fill out a bracket...but I'm so glad you gave me that update. Thanks! Thank you all so much for the many updates this week. Wasn't Conference wonderful? I just loved it. Especially being a missionary. It was so much more meaningful for me.
Well this week has been a week of conferences. I spent probably half of my time this week up in Miratejo, which is where the Irmãs of Almada live and where all of our meetings as a zone are. We had zone conference on Friday, which was so great! We were with two other zones and so I got to meet a lot of great missionaries and see some old friends from the MTC. I learned some great things about working with the members to move this work along and there was a great talk from one of the zone leaders that really got me thinking. He talked about how the prophets always say "come unto Christ" not "go unto Christ." For them to be able to say "come" they need to be where Christ is. As a missionary, my purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. Thus, I need to make sure that I am where He is and that I have the Spirit guiding me in this work. Food for thought.
While at zone conference we discussed our upcoming CTMM (MTC for Member Missionaries) that we will be doing a week from Sunday. I also met Elder Marriott, who I think Jen knew in the MTC. He lived in my same neighborhood area in Brazil. Crazy. It's a small world in the Church. Irmã Terry gave her training as well. She talked about manners, which I think was good for some of the elders to hear. She is a really funny lady and I think we all enjoyed the advice she had to give to us. President Terry talked to us about the trial of our faith. He recounted a mission story where he had to search for months to find even one person to teach (and he was in Brazil), but that they were greatly blessed in their efforts. I love President Terry and am so blessed to have him as my mission president.
The next day was Saturday and our whole morning plans blew up in smoke, which is pretty normal. so we ended up going over to teach Leo (Leu). It was my first lesson in the stairway! We talked to him about testimony and we've been teaching him for about four months now. I asked him if he had prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He still hasn't, so we're going to be working with him on that. Having a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is everything in the gospel. Without it, there is no progression. It is so important to have this testimony. I have seen this with a lot of our investigators. Those who have this testimony are making so much progress and coming so much closer to the Savior.
Then we rushed over to teach Celeste. Everything was going well and we were just waiting for our bus to get to her apartment in Arrentela. So we waited. and we waited and we waited. The bus never came. Oy veh. Finally another bus came and we got over to her apartment. When we got over there she was a wreck. I really think that we came into her life at just the right time for her. We were able to give her someone to talk to and to leave a talk with her about the Atonement.
Then we headed up to Conference for the weekend. We stayed up with the other irmãs for Saturday and Sunday, which was fun. I love those irmãs. I LOVE CONFERENCE! So many of the talks were exactly what my investigators needed to hear. My intent in going to conference was so different this time because I went listening for what they needed to hear, as well as what I needed to hear. But there were so many things that were said that were exactly what they needed to hear.
We watched conference with our whole zone of missionaries. Elder Baldwin is in my zone and he worked a lot with John. We were able to watch conference in English, so it was basically just us missionaries down in the basement watching conference. We made lunch for the elders on Sunday and that was AMAZING! I got some gooood recipes from that. I love my zone and we're all getting together today to watch some movies (all missionary appropriate, of course). It's really nice to mix it up with different people, plus the elders make me laugh really hard.
Monday we went back home and ended up getting caught in the rain and SOAKED. Irmã Brady could ring out her shoes and her skirt. I just smelled like a wet dog. I don't know which was worse for us, my smell or her wetness. But we knocked doors and had some...interesting experiences. There was a man who wanted us to debate with him. He knows that his church isn't true, but doesn't want to change.
Yesterday we had interviews with President Terry and that was another time for the zone to get together, since the schedule is usually behind. Irmã Terry brought cookies and we laughed at the funny things that she says that you would never think she would say. She really is the mom of the mission.
We've had some good lessons with investigators and members. The members help out SOOO much when they teach with us. I wish that every lesson we taught we could have a member with us. wow. What a difference. Ana is progressing wonderfully and is really close with the ward already. She's such a blessing for us.
Oh, I forgot! When Elder Bednar told us that members should be doing the finding and missionaries doing the teaching, there was a cheer from each of us during conference, as well as some good fist pumping. That was GOLD for us as missionaries to hear.
Things are GREAT here! I love this work and being able to teach and talk with God's children. I am so blessed. I can understand pretty much what everyone says, except the Cape Verdians. Fogo! they talk sooo fast!
I love you all! Have a great day! Good luck with finals and everything else!
Well this week has been a week of conferences. I spent probably half of my time this week up in Miratejo, which is where the Irmãs of Almada live and where all of our meetings as a zone are. We had zone conference on Friday, which was so great! We were with two other zones and so I got to meet a lot of great missionaries and see some old friends from the MTC. I learned some great things about working with the members to move this work along and there was a great talk from one of the zone leaders that really got me thinking. He talked about how the prophets always say "come unto Christ" not "go unto Christ." For them to be able to say "come" they need to be where Christ is. As a missionary, my purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. Thus, I need to make sure that I am where He is and that I have the Spirit guiding me in this work. Food for thought.
While at zone conference we discussed our upcoming CTMM (MTC for Member Missionaries) that we will be doing a week from Sunday. I also met Elder Marriott, who I think Jen knew in the MTC. He lived in my same neighborhood area in Brazil. Crazy. It's a small world in the Church. Irmã Terry gave her training as well. She talked about manners, which I think was good for some of the elders to hear. She is a really funny lady and I think we all enjoyed the advice she had to give to us. President Terry talked to us about the trial of our faith. He recounted a mission story where he had to search for months to find even one person to teach (and he was in Brazil), but that they were greatly blessed in their efforts. I love President Terry and am so blessed to have him as my mission president.
The next day was Saturday and our whole morning plans blew up in smoke, which is pretty normal. so we ended up going over to teach Leo (Leu). It was my first lesson in the stairway! We talked to him about testimony and we've been teaching him for about four months now. I asked him if he had prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He still hasn't, so we're going to be working with him on that. Having a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is everything in the gospel. Without it, there is no progression. It is so important to have this testimony. I have seen this with a lot of our investigators. Those who have this testimony are making so much progress and coming so much closer to the Savior.
Then we rushed over to teach Celeste. Everything was going well and we were just waiting for our bus to get to her apartment in Arrentela. So we waited. and we waited and we waited. The bus never came. Oy veh. Finally another bus came and we got over to her apartment. When we got over there she was a wreck. I really think that we came into her life at just the right time for her. We were able to give her someone to talk to and to leave a talk with her about the Atonement.
Then we headed up to Conference for the weekend. We stayed up with the other irmãs for Saturday and Sunday, which was fun. I love those irmãs. I LOVE CONFERENCE! So many of the talks were exactly what my investigators needed to hear. My intent in going to conference was so different this time because I went listening for what they needed to hear, as well as what I needed to hear. But there were so many things that were said that were exactly what they needed to hear.
We watched conference with our whole zone of missionaries. Elder Baldwin is in my zone and he worked a lot with John. We were able to watch conference in English, so it was basically just us missionaries down in the basement watching conference. We made lunch for the elders on Sunday and that was AMAZING! I got some gooood recipes from that. I love my zone and we're all getting together today to watch some movies (all missionary appropriate, of course). It's really nice to mix it up with different people, plus the elders make me laugh really hard.
Monday we went back home and ended up getting caught in the rain and SOAKED. Irmã Brady could ring out her shoes and her skirt. I just smelled like a wet dog. I don't know which was worse for us, my smell or her wetness. But we knocked doors and had some...interesting experiences. There was a man who wanted us to debate with him. He knows that his church isn't true, but doesn't want to change.
Yesterday we had interviews with President Terry and that was another time for the zone to get together, since the schedule is usually behind. Irmã Terry brought cookies and we laughed at the funny things that she says that you would never think she would say. She really is the mom of the mission.
We've had some good lessons with investigators and members. The members help out SOOO much when they teach with us. I wish that every lesson we taught we could have a member with us. wow. What a difference. Ana is progressing wonderfully and is really close with the ward already. She's such a blessing for us.
Oh, I forgot! When Elder Bednar told us that members should be doing the finding and missionaries doing the teaching, there was a cheer from each of us during conference, as well as some good fist pumping. That was GOLD for us as missionaries to hear.
Things are GREAT here! I love this work and being able to teach and talk with God's children. I am so blessed. I can understand pretty much what everyone says, except the Cape Verdians. Fogo! they talk sooo fast!
I love you all! Have a great day! Good luck with finals and everything else!
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