Brazil - Week 31

Tuesday- So today we visited with Danilo and then Eunezi. The only problem with Danilo now is we are thinking that he is using again. Its really sad. 

Wednesday- So today we got this member, Erica(who is preparing to serve a mission), and we went to this place.....its like a park but there isn't really any grass or toys for kids to play on.....BUT we went there and we did contacts and passed out BoMs and pamphlets about the restoration and Gospel of Christ and the plan of salvation. We left with 12 addresses and 7 lessons!! 

Thursday- We did weekly planning and then visited with this new investigator, Isabel, and her family. Turns out that she has a daughter who lives in Spain and found the Elders there but never had time to visit with them because she was coming here. At the same time in Brazil her mom told us to come back the next week because her daughter would be here!! It was so destiny for her to talk with the missionaries!! So we taught her the 1st lesson and we will teach her as much as we can before she goes back to Spain and then we will let the elders there know where to find her and what is need to get baptized!! :)

Friday- So today we had one of the best lessons!! We found this lady Wednesday and she really wanted us to visit and so we did today and turns out she is like Joseph Smith!!! Really confused about which church to join!! So when we were teaching her we focused more on Joseph and compared him to her. It was so spiritual that Sister Gonçalves cried....and then Luciana did too!! 

Saturday- We visited with an inactive member, Palmira. It actually took us a little over an hour to find this lady's road. It was SUPER frustrating!!! We almost quit but we were so mad that the anger actually gave us the determination to find the road. Then it started raining. And we left our umbrellas at home. So we were angry, tired, and wet. BUT then we found it!! So we talked with her and then left for our other appointment....which fell through...so we went with plan B. His name is Paulo and he is a pastor....BUT he was sleeping because he prayed all night long....so we talked with his "friend" who is a missionary for ANOTHER church but is staying with Paulo. So we talked with him and gave him a BoM. It was actually good. He really liked when we quoted the bible and I knew the reference correctly. ;) Thank you seminary!! 

Sunday- We helped Luci-Mar work on her family tree on familysearch it was great!! I really love family history!! We then had a ward council meeting and then we were doing contacts after and we met this kid named Elder.....yeah seriously his name is legally Elder and no he isn't a member...yet. ;) But him and his family are super great!! We are really excited to teach them!! They already agreed to go to church Sunday!! We then needed one more lesson with a member so we went home and called an ex-investigator, Adrielle. And we just talked a bit with her and then we passed the phone to João Pedro(he is a member of another ward but his girlfriend lives in the house in front of ours) and he started talking a bit with her and then he just marked her to be baptized this next Sunday!!!! :o So lets see next week what will happen!! :)

 

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Sister Emma Marion

 

 

Brazil - Week 30

Monday- So tonight we visited with Grizielle! (For those who don't remember her she is an inactive member whose  kids want to be baptized but their dad won't let them and won't let her or the kids go to church.) It was a good visit we were hoping he would be there so we could talk to him and see why he won't let them go to church. But he left before we got there. :/ We then visited with a new investigator, Mari Leide. She is the daughter of Maria dos Anjos and has a brother who is a member in another city. After talking with her a while she actually agreed to be baptized on 12/8!!

Tuesday-   So today Sister Gonçalves woke up sick with a sore throat and a slight fever so we stayed home which was good because we got a call that night saying that we will be moving the next day to a better house that is behind a members house!! So we packed up our stuff!! We then got a call from Luci-mar saying that Jeanny(her pregnant daughter) fell on her belly and is now in the hospital. What happened was Monday night the police went to the bar by their house and started shooting (apparently this is common.......) so Jeanny and Luci-Mar started running to get inside the house and Jeanny fell and landed on her belly. So as soon as it was safe they got Luciano(Luci-mar's son because Luci-mar doesn't know how to drive) and got the neighbor's car (because Luci-mar's husband drove the car to work) and drove her to the hospital where they realized that she has been losing the fluid that protects the baby and he can only stay in her belly for a maximum of 4 more days. 

Wednesday- So we moved today to the new house!! IT IS GREAT!! Its perfect for missionaries!! Its small but has everything we need!! Only problem is our We got a call from an inactive member that we don't know who said that she has a neighbor that needs us and for us to come to her house the next night to visit with him. 

Thursday-So we went to the inactive member(Eunézi)'s house and turns out that this kid's name is Danilo and he is 21 and he has been snorting crack since he was 13 and wants to stop. So the only thing I could think of to help him was the technique in the missionaries and members book, commitment to Christ to stop smoking. So we tried it out! We sang a hymn and then just talked to him about the love our father in heaven and Jesus Christ have for him and committed him to stop for 24hrs and we would visit him the next day. We also gave him the photo of Christ in the gospel of Christ pamphlet and told him that every time he had a desire to smoke just look at the picture and remember the love our savior has for him and if that isn't enough to call us and we can help him through the urge. We later learned that he did just that-minus the calling part. His mother told Eunézi that all night long he was looking at the picture then praying and repeating until he could finally go to sleep. And Jeanny had a c-section today and took baby Matheus out. He was born 3 weeks early but he is healthy and fine....just small. Like none of his clothes fit him right. :)

 Friday- After lunch we bought a new stove!! :D Our old one wasn't working right but this new one is awesome and we should be getting it Monday or Tuesday!! :D We then visited with Danilo again and the 2nd councilor in the bishopric, Kelson, went with us and gave him a blessing!! Danilo also said that he will go to church Sunday!! :D 

Saturday- So all of our appointments fell through except one. His name is Davis and we taught him and his friend Lucas about the restoration. It went really well and Davis agreed to be baptized!!! :D We then went and taught an English class but the only people that showed up were Davis and Lucas...:/ But they loved it!! Its so cool to teach people a second language!! I still can't believe I know a second language now....@.@

Sunday- So this morning we got a call from Eunézi saying that her car died and her and Danilo don't have a way to get to church so we got the Patriarch to drive us there and get them. Its a good thing we did because he was our only investigator at church today. :( We then went back home to study and then we visited with Luci-Mar and Jeanny and Matheus!! He is super cute!! :) 

--

Sister Emma Marion

 

 

 

 

Moving to a new apartment (see Wednesday entry)

The "divas" at a Relief Society activity

 

Brazil- Week 29

Monday- so today after emailing we bought french fries and took them home where we put cheese on top and had a yummy lunch!! XD Then we took naps!! :D

Tuesday- We walked to a neighborhood (Jardim Maringá ) that is 1 hour away () and meet with this 19yr old boy and taught him the 1st lesson (restoration) then we walk 15 more minutes and visited with Cleodinice and taught her about the gospel of Christ. She really wants to be baptized but she needs to get married first... :/ That is one common problem here. People don't get married...they just live together for 20 yrs!!! 

Wednesday- So we went back to Jardim Maringá and visited with this lady, Italá. She is really great....but needs to get married..... ugh. We finished our visits early and decided to do contacts. After a brief discussion about which neighborhood we went to Cohab Cristo Rei. While we were there this guy stopped us and said "Hi sisters! I am a member from the Lucas ward. Do you have some time to talk right now?" So we told him yes and he said to follow him. So we did and he started explaining to us that earlier that morning his mom (Maria dos Anjos) told him that the only church she will agree to be baptized in is the Mormon church and if he can find the missionaries she will talk to them. It was pure inspiration that we decided to go to Cohab Cristo Rei that day and we are really glad that we did!! I'm really glad to know that we are worthy to receive these spiritual promptings that are helping families. This lady has 12 kids and only 1 is a member....because we were worthy and listening we can help save 13 souls!  After that we visited with a new investigator, Nailsi. We talked to her about the plan of salvation and how she can see her son (who dies when he was 6) again. And I actually did a service project there. I sewed her granddaughter's backpack straps to the bag again. Thank you mommy and grandmothers for teaching me how to sew!! It really made them really happy and I sewed it back really tight so it will stay longer. :)

Thursday- We visited with Zeferino again and taught about the 10 commandments and actually threw his coffee in the trash!!! (With his permission of course.) We then visited with Luci-Mar and then Maria Oneide. They were all good visits! Then we finished our weekly planning. :)

Friday- We had a district meeting today. It was really great!! We talked about the wrong assumptions that people have about the church and how we can teach them the right doctrine. He did this by have the sisters on one team and the elders on the other and he gave us a question and we had one minute to thinnk of a responce and find a scripture to support our answer. If we got it right we got a point if we got it wrong he threw a cap full of water in our faces. It was a lot of fun!! But in the end we lost and each elder got a turn throwing water in our faces....luckily it was hot out....hehe!! We then visited with Maria dos Anjos and talked about the restoration some more. She then fed us dinner!! :)

Saturday- So this morning I made a puzzle out of cardboard and a picture of Christ to explain better about without the Priesthood we don't have the complete picture. It turned out really great!! Then we went to Luci-mar's house and did 2 service projects!!! 1) Sister Gonçalves helped her learn how to make bread, and 2) I helped Jeanny organize her room and the baby clothes for when Matheus is born it will be a lot easier for her. :) I LOVED IT!!! I organized the baby clothes by type (ie. with sleeves/with out, onesie/shirt, ect.) and by color! :)

Sunday- We just had a day of contacts after church. A new member, Marcia (the bishop's mom) went with us! It was really cool!! We ended the day with 6 lessons with members!!! :)

Monday- So this morning I finished reading 'Our Search for Happiness'. It was really great!!! I recommend it to EVERYONE!!!! :) 

-- 

Sister Emma Marion

Brazil - Week 28

Tuesday- We got a call from our Zone Leaders asking for us to try and get 2 baptisms for Sunday. We were really surprised!! And kind of stressed out a bit but we were actually in the church getting water and so we went in to the chapel and prayed about which people should be baptized this Sunday. And we felt that the 3 children of Rosangela were ready and able to be baptized this Sunday. So we went and visited with them and talked to them about this experience we had and they agreed!!! :D So we will have 3 baptisms this week!!! 

Wednesday- Today was SOOOOOO HOT!!!!!! And yes mother I used sunscreen today. ;) But yeah we went to visit our new investigator, Ivanil, who lives 1 hour away. It was great!! Her daughter-in-law was there and when we pulled out the picture of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist she got really excited and started saying "John the Baptist!! Oh how great is that!!" It was kind of funny!! We went to visit an new investigator Zeferino with the Patriarch and this guy is like REALLY bad off. Like he really is only alive because of Heavenly Father's plan. Like really 20 yrs ago he got an electrical shock of 30,000 and got thrown really far away and broke his legs and skull and he is still alive. He is just paralyzed from the waist down. And he lives alone and washed his own clothes and cleans the house and everything! But he knows the importance of baptism and agreed to be baptized. We just need to mark a date!! We then went home and worked on our weekly planning and then we visited with Eva! We watched the Restoration video. Its really great!! There really was the Spirit there during the film. Because it really happened!! Everything! From Joseph Smith seeing God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ to translating the Book of Mormon. Its all true! I know that 100%. 

Thursday- We had the baptismal interviews of the kids. It went really well!! We then finished our weekly planning and then had a family night with Luci-Mar and watched the video Together Forever. It was cute. And I think it helped her family think about what they really want. and if they want the blessings that only come after baptism in the Savior's church with His authority.

Friday- We visited again with Ivanil and Claydinice (her daughter-in-law) and we actually got to mark a date for Ivanil's baptism!! Our goal is for the 24th of November!!! It was a good day!! 

Saturday- We went with a member to visit this referral that lives 3 hours away from our house. Luckly this member, Edilane, has a car!! it was really cool but turns out that this lady hasn't lived in this house for 8 yrs....but her mom lives there and we talked with her and gave her a Book of Mormon!! we then went to the church for the baptism!!!! :D Yay!! It was great! They were soo happy!! The came out of the water smiling!! :) After the baptism we have a relief society activity!! It was the BEST!! It was about self worth and they had like a mini fashion show that they asked SIster Gonçalves and I to participate in...it was great!! And they had people doing makeup and we have a member in our ward who is a psychiatrist and she talked about self esteem. It was just really fun! 

Sunday- We went to visit with Zeferino again and he accepted the baptism date 11-24!! and then we went with the Primary president to visit with Marciel. It was great! He is an awesome kid....but I still think he has ADD......and then after that we were working like normal trying to do contacts and we passed the main road and in the middle there was this giant van for "Caravana Mato Grosso" and we were like "Hey I wonder if they would let us use the microphone to ask this big group of people if they want to learn about the gospel??" So we went over and asked and they were like "Yeah we don't have time for that but what you're doing is so awesome we'll do an interview with you instead!!" So they interviewed us, they just asked questions about what we're doing here and what's our message. So we just did a contact like normal but with a camera recording it....It was so great and we told them that if they want to learn about the gospel find the 2 young men walking around with social clothes and name tags, they are called Elders, and they can help you or the young women, called sisters. It was a great oppurtunity and we are so happy we took this chance. They told us that this will be sent out to all of Mato Grosso, which we are thinking includes Mato Grosso do Sul. :) Which is our whole mission! We feel really cool. :)

--

Sister Emma Marion

 

3 baptisms with Elder Wright from Idaho Falls (see Tuesday entry)

Month 7

walking in the rain!

P-day with sisters and President: Overlooking the city of Cuiaba

It's summer in Brazil! (see Wednesday entry)

 

Brazil - Week 27

Tuesday- So today we had a split with Sister Carvalho and Sister Clark. I went with SIster Carvalho to her area called Coxipo. It was super great but I missed my area!!! 

Wednesday- We visited with Eva our dear new friend!! And she said that she would go to church with us this week!! :D We then visited with the cousin of a returned missionary, Mike(RM), his name is Iam Ceaser.....yeah seriously thats the kids name...but it was good. We talked to him about the correct form of baptism and recieving the Holy Ghost. Which is the form that says in the bible. It was a good lesson. We then were accidently part of a visiting teaching lesson when we went to a members house to teach her nonmember husband. But all is welll all is welll!!! :)

Thursday- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! We spent just about all day in our house doing weekly planning! XP But it was a good planning session!! :) But when we left the house a black cat ran in front of Sister Goncçalves!!!! 8o I told her she needs to be careful because she will fall on the ground now because of the bad luck but she didn't believe me...

Friday- So today after lunch (which was an at home meal)  Sister Gonçalves was walking barefoot to the kitchen and slipped on some water that was on the ground (without our knowledge)! I told her this would happen! (See Thursday)  ;) But we then visited with Luci-Mar and then a new investigator, Ariele. She is 20 and really cool. She really wants to know if this church is true or not. After that we visited with Dalva (our friend that sells icecream) and talked to her about the church. :) It was good! 

Saturday- so today we visited with a member Jackline and her nonmember husband André and talked top him about the church.....he is really closed minded. But then we visited with Rosangela and she said that she would go to church...we'll see.....she doesn't really seem very interested...BUT after that we passed by a memvber's house and she gave us some new clothes!!!! Well new for us....but I got some new shirts!! They are cute!! And Sister Gonçalves got new skirts!! :)

Sunday- Sooooo Rosangela went to church...and after sacrament she agreed to be baptized on the 17th...I guess she was interested after all..... :) We then did contacts all day and went to the ward councel meeting. It was really great!! We are going to be doing some really awesome stuff!! :) We then went with Kelson, our "ward mission leader" and the 2nd councelor in the bishopric, to visit with Jeanny and give her a blessing of health for her and her soon-to-be-born baby, Matheus. It was really good and Jeanny's boyfriend was there so we talked to hima bout the church. :)

Monday- So we just plan on sleeping all day..... ;) 

--

Sister Emma Marion

 

Brazil - Week 26

Yeah so I'm still trying to process that I have been on a mission for 7 months already!!! I only have 11 months left! That's only like 11 fast Sundays!! 8o

Tuesday- We visited with Maria Oneide, Marciel, Leonardo, and Amanda and read 2 Nephi 31 with them and talked about the gospel of Christ. It was really good!! We then visited with Katia's mom Lauriçe with Irmã Josefa it was good but there was a lot of interruptions and we need to teach the lesson again we think. But after that everything else fell through... :/

Wednesday- We did weekly planning and it was really good! I fell a lot more organized! (haha I know right..me organized ;) )And then we visited with Janie and taught the 1st lesson (restoration) and it was super good at the end we really felt the spirit and we know that she did too. Then when we were leaving we got a phone call from Sister Clark (sister training leader) and she told us that her companion Sister Carvalho was doing a split in a city 4 hours away and they didn't realize until they got home that she has they keys to the house and they need a place to stay for the night....so we had a sleepover! ;) 

Thursday- We had a zone meeting and interviews with President Reber. He is awesome! He started off just saying how proud he is of me and that he got a text form our Bishop thanking him for assigning the Elders and Sisters he did in that ward because we are really blessing the ward and area. It is so nice to know that people realize how much we are working and really are grateful for the work we do. Sometimes you really just need a thank you. *My invite for everyone reading this; Go to the missionaries in your ward and thank them for their work and sacrifices. It means the world to know that the members care and are grateful for what we do!* AND I GOT MY PACKAGE AND 2 LETTERS!!! Thanks SOOOOOOO much everyone!!!!! I loved every bit!!! It really made my week!!!!!! 

Friday- We started off the day teaching this lady (who reminds me of Heather *my aunt*) who sells really good juice!! Her name is Walleria. She is really awesome and really is interested in learning about the church. It was a good lesson. Then after lunch we visited an inactive member Vanessa and realized she doesn't really have a testimony. So we are going to start working with her. We then visited with Luci-Mar, she is just awesome. :) 

Saturday- So today we got a really awesome call!! (Back story- So we have started putting Book of Mormons (with the church's address and hours and our cell number) in mail boxes) A guy named Anderson called us and said that he found a Book of Mormon in his mail box with this number in it and he wants to know what this book is!! Yay!! So we will be visiting with him this next week!! :D We then visited with an ex-investigator from 2 yrs. ago named Vanessa. It was a super lesson and she accepted baptism without any problems!! So we are going to prepare her to be baptized on Nov. 3!! :D It was awesome!! We then visited with a new invest. named Lourdes. And this is where it gets sad. She told us that her son is against all religions that isn't his own and he found the Book of Mormon we gave her and ripped it up and burned it. My heart broke when she told us that. :'( And it all went down hill from there. We planned on doing our English class but no one showed up. I was really upset and disappointed. I don't know what more we could have done to advertise. But I will do SOMETHING more and try again this week. :(

Sunday- So today was really great! It was the birthday of our investigator, Eva, and we threw her a surprise party at her neighbor's house!! They are members and so they invited her and her family to a Family night and when she got there we actually had the elder that started teaching her there and I used the cake y'all sent me and candles and balloons and the crepe streamers. It was super great!!! She LOVED it!! And she was soooo surprised!! She almost cried when she told us that no one has ever thrown her a surprise party before!! But we were happy to do it and the birthday supplies went to a good cause!!! :) 

Monday- So today was AWESOME!!! All of the sisters in Cuiabá got together with President and Sister Reber and they took us to the water fall and the stone in the center of South America! It was so much fun!! It was the closet thing we can get right now to a "Day out with Dad"! :) And he kept calling us his daughters. Even to strangers!! They was this group of people on the trail to the water fall when we were leaving and they said something to President (I think they were asking for directions) and he said something like "follow the line of my daughters." :) It really makes you feel good to know you have a "Dad" close by.....but it makes me miss my real Dad more!!! But my camera died sooo I have to wait for the other sisters to send me all of the pictures!!! But I sent the few I had!!! It was super awesome!!! :)

--

Sister Emma Marion

 

 

Birthday Princess Crown from sister Tori!

The center of South America with Sister Goncalves

 

Center of South America with all the sisters in Cuiaba area

(see Monday entry)

 

Brazil - Week 25

Monday- So Sister Kimball left crying. It was a sad time. But I know that she will like it in the south!

And my new companion is Sister Gonçalves she is from Santa Catarina in the south of Brasil. She is really cool and has like a British accent...but she speaks Portuguese....its hard to explain but its cool!! :D 

Tuesday- We visited with this inactive member and we were talking with him to see why he stopped going and we realized it was because he believes in reincarnation.....and the church doesn't.....so yeah...we gave him a pamphlet about the plan of salvation. We then visited with Luci-mar and Jeanny and read 2 Nephi 31 with them and talked about the gospel of Christ and baptism. But Jeanny says that she wants to wait until after the baby is born to get baptized because she wants to know for sure that these feelings are her own and not just because of the baby. We then visited Katia and taught her the first lesson it went well!! :)

Wednesday- It really wasnt a very productive day. We had to go to the market because Sister Gonçalves and I didn't have time to get her food on P-Day but we taught Rosangela who is a referral from the Patriarch...it was okay. They just don't have a desire to go to church...

Thursday- We talked with Grizielle and her kids and Rebeca today about the commandments. It was good; the only thing stopping them from getting baptized is their dad. We then talked with Katia's mom and marked a day to teach her and then Luci-Mar and asked what she wants to learn about (temples she said) and then we visited with Maria Oneide and her kids and  when we were visiting with them we asked  Amanda if she was going to go to church sunday and she said yes and so we jokingly said "and one day get baptized right??" and she said "Yeah I want to be baptized Sunday." We were SO surprized and excited for her!!! She has already been to church and had the same lessons as the others so we told her she could and she was. It was the best thing ever!  We then had a meeting where we met the new elder, Elder Wright from Idaho Falls! 

Friday- So we finished our weekly planning today and the visited with Maria Oneide and Amanda and Leonardo and Maciel and did the baptism records and then we visited with Luci-mar and talked with her about temples! We then visited with an ex-investigator of the Elders that only stopped because a lady at church told her that she couldn't come to church in pants.... >:[ YOU CAN! We were a bit upset with that lady when we read that. But we visited with her and she seems really excited!! Her son is already an active member! So we just gotta help her get over her embarrasment! But we marked a date to visit with her again and she said that she would make us bread!! :D

Saturday- We had the baptism interviews and then we went to an appointment in the other area (because her husband doesn't want her talking disscussions from elders because they are young men) and SHE WASN'T THERE X{ It was a waste of R$3(for the bus pass)!!!!! But then we came back and made invites for church and we decided to teach English for a service project/way of getting new investigators!! Its good we have 3 Americans here. Its gonna be fun!! 

Sunday- SO we were almost late to church today! Because of the hour change...we thought the cell phone would change by itself....but nope. Luckily we got there in time and we called the Elders at 8:30 (when church starts) and they were just leaving their hosue...so I explained about the hour change and they were freaking out. It was funny. :) We then had 2 baptisms!!! Leonardo and Amanda!!! :D We then were talking with Maria Oneide (their mom) and she said that now that their souls are saved she will get married and get baptized!! :D It was a great time!!! :D

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Sister Emma Marion

Baptism of Amanda and Leonardo Awesome Day!! (see Thursday entry)

 

 

New companion, Sister Goncalves