It feels like a long time ago since the last time I wrote! This week has been a week of re-orientation. Last Tuesday I got everything all packed up and traveled by train and ferry across the river to Almada, my new area with Irmã Howard. This area opened for irmãs only the previous transfer, so the missionary work here is still beginning. There is potential here, but also a lot of work! This week we mostly did a lot of procura, contacting people from the area book and doing ´´contatos da oracão´´. It was an interesting week and we met lots of people. There is one investigator here, Nicolau, that is pretty much a golden investigator that appeared two weeks ago. After several attempts, we finally had a compromisso with him, and invited him to be baptized this next week. He accepted, and we´re really excited for him- he´s a really good person.
On Sunday I went to church with a member and an investigator while Irmã Howard went to buscar o outro pesquisador. We arrived at the chapel (which I had never been to before!) right on time for sacrament meeting. When the counselor started to conduct the meeting, he announced that Irmã Howard would be the pianist, but she wasn´t there yet! So, I got to play the piano for sacrament meeting- I´m just grateful that I am able to and that I got to practice in Oeiras a lot!
Sunday school was...interesting. The bishop teaches the class, and yesterday went off on lots of tangents that were not related to basic principles of the gospel! It was both a little frustrating and nerve-racking: you don´t feed the carne before the milk!
But, it was interesting being in a smaller ala slash branch. They could use a lot of help.
I was reading this morning in 2 Néfi 2, and I really liked the first three verses(I like them better in Portuguese!). In spite of the afflictions that Jacob passed through, he was blessed because he knew of the greatness of God, and his afflictions were consecrated for his good. I know that we all pass through afflictions, but that these experiences are for our good, and that we always have something to learn. No matter what we go through, when we have faith in Jesus Christ, we have hope because we know that Christ overcame all.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Transfers!
Today is the last day of my first transfer (transfer? transfaréncia). Can you believe it? The time has really flown by. Today was my first experience of waiting for...the phone call...from President, to tell us if any of us are moving. Luckily the phone call came around noon, so we didn´t have to wait for too long. The News...I am being transferred!!!!
I am moving from Oeiras to Almada, which is across the river. My companion will be Irmã Howard who, interestingly enough, was in my freshman ward at BYU! She has been in Portugal since August, and we are the two newest sisters in the mission. It should be interesting! I know it will be hard, but I am excited because I know that the Lord has a purpose for this, and that there is a lot to learn!
This week was interesting. We worked a lot with our investigator Nito, meeting with him every day to help him feel prepared for baptism and be able to stop smoking. Miracles really do happen! He was baptized on Sunday after church, and he was so excited and happy to be baptized, it was great. Funny detail- after the fiasco last week of not being able to heat the water, we lit the aquecedor a whole day before the baptism to heat the water. Well, when it was time for the baptism, the water was too hot!! So we added a couple panfuls of cold water to make the temperature better...never without adventure here!
Often times things happen that make it so clear that this work is not being done by us, but that we are only instruments in God´s hands. A couple weeks ago we received a reference from church headquarters with a name and endereço of a woman. After a couple tries we finally found the right rua and predio that the reference listed, except a woman by that name does not exist in that predio! We knocked every door in the predio and could not find her. However, at the address that the reference listed, there was a family. We left a pamphlet with them and said we would return later. Yesterday we went back to their apartment, and found the whole family there. They let us in and we talked about God´s plans for families. They are an incredible family! We made an appointment with them to return, and we found a new family to teach!! This is the first complete family that we found, and it is very exciting! They are truly golden. I´m sad that I am leaving before we teach them more...But, we felt that our goal this week for new pesquisadors should be 10 pessoas, and we found the last 5 last night! Heavenly Father truly placed this family in our hands, and now it is up to us to do our part!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
This week passed by quickly, but at the same time, it feels like it lasted forever...times moves weirdly.
We had interviews and training on Tuesday this last week. We have them once a transfer, and it was my first experience with them. It was amazing! President Torgan teaches from the scriptures, and the insights and applications that he made were so insightful and clearly inspired. It made me want to be a lot better!
Something that I have learned more, especially in the last week is that when we pray specifically, we get specific answers, although they may not be quite what we imagined. When I was in the MTC, I prayed to have a native companion, because I thought that would help me the most here. What did I end up with?...TWO natives!! Heavenly Father more than answered my prayers, in a way I did not expect. This last week I saw how quickly prayers can be specifically answered as well. We have an investigator, Nito, who has been progressing, and we wanted to invite him to be baptized. I prayed the morning before we taught him that we would know if it was the Lord´s will to invite him to be baptized this next week. During the lesson, we invited him to come to another investigator´s baptism, and were talking about baptism. He said that he wanted to be baptized, and so my companion, Irmã NKutxi invited him to be baptized this next weekend, and he accepted. The Lord answered my specific prayer and Nito showed us his desire! I also have a more...interesting story.
I think last week I mentioned Julia preparing to be baptized. We had her baptism planned for 5pm on Saturday (this is the baptism we invited Nito to attend). I had prayed with my companions for her to have an ´´inesquecivel´´ (unforgettable?) experience at her baptism. We arrived at the chapel a little after 4pm to get everything ready. The baptismal font was all ready and full of water, but the water was bem-frio!! (semelhante to Lake Michigan this summer!) Júlia has health problems and has been sick, so there was no way that she could be baptized in that cold water...and the heater for the font was not working. One idea we had was to heat up water in the kitchen and add it to the font to raise the temperature. We tried this for about an hour, but it wasn´t having any success.
Our next solution was to try another chapel that was already having a baptism and would have a font ready...but they had all already emptied the font. So the Elders in our district in Cascais prepared their chapel for us to use...and the font takes 2 hours to fill up! So, a lot of pandemonium occurred, but we finally had a baptism at 8 pm. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!!! We spent 5 hours at the chapel to have one baptism! (and of course this was the night we planned to have a three-way division, but these things happen) I think in the future I will be a little more careful with my prayers, and stick with praying for a spiritually uplifting experience!
But, I really do know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, even when the answers may not be what we want or expect. When we have faith and hope, we trust in Him and His plan for us, and recognize that ´´my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.´´(Is. 55) I am grateful that we can always pray to our Father in Heaven to know his ways!
We had interviews and training on Tuesday this last week. We have them once a transfer, and it was my first experience with them. It was amazing! President Torgan teaches from the scriptures, and the insights and applications that he made were so insightful and clearly inspired. It made me want to be a lot better!
Something that I have learned more, especially in the last week is that when we pray specifically, we get specific answers, although they may not be quite what we imagined. When I was in the MTC, I prayed to have a native companion, because I thought that would help me the most here. What did I end up with?...TWO natives!! Heavenly Father more than answered my prayers, in a way I did not expect. This last week I saw how quickly prayers can be specifically answered as well. We have an investigator, Nito, who has been progressing, and we wanted to invite him to be baptized. I prayed the morning before we taught him that we would know if it was the Lord´s will to invite him to be baptized this next week. During the lesson, we invited him to come to another investigator´s baptism, and were talking about baptism. He said that he wanted to be baptized, and so my companion, Irmã NKutxi invited him to be baptized this next weekend, and he accepted. The Lord answered my specific prayer and Nito showed us his desire! I also have a more...interesting story.
I think last week I mentioned Julia preparing to be baptized. We had her baptism planned for 5pm on Saturday (this is the baptism we invited Nito to attend). I had prayed with my companions for her to have an ´´inesquecivel´´ (unforgettable?) experience at her baptism. We arrived at the chapel a little after 4pm to get everything ready. The baptismal font was all ready and full of water, but the water was bem-frio!! (semelhante to Lake Michigan this summer!) Júlia has health problems and has been sick, so there was no way that she could be baptized in that cold water...and the heater for the font was not working. One idea we had was to heat up water in the kitchen and add it to the font to raise the temperature. We tried this for about an hour, but it wasn´t having any success.
Our next solution was to try another chapel that was already having a baptism and would have a font ready...but they had all already emptied the font. So the Elders in our district in Cascais prepared their chapel for us to use...and the font takes 2 hours to fill up! So, a lot of pandemonium occurred, but we finally had a baptism at 8 pm. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!!! We spent 5 hours at the chapel to have one baptism! (and of course this was the night we planned to have a three-way division, but these things happen) I think in the future I will be a little more careful with my prayers, and stick with praying for a spiritually uplifting experience!
But, I really do know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, even when the answers may not be what we want or expect. When we have faith and hope, we trust in Him and His plan for us, and recognize that ´´my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.´´(Is. 55) I am grateful that we can always pray to our Father in Heaven to know his ways!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Bon Ano Novo!
I hope that the last week has treated you all well, with lots of play and rest! This was a pretty typical week, with lessons, procurar (searching?), and other acivities. We have an investigator, Julia, who plans to be baptized this coming Saturday, so we have been working a lot with her. She has problems, like every one does, but she has so much faith in Jesus Christ that it is incredible.
This week marked the beginning of 2010- incredible! I can´t believe that we are starting another decade. There was not a big celebration here. We were out and about until 9:30, and there was not really anyone out on the streets (most are inside drinking). There was one firework that went off at 11, but other than that is was a pretty normal night! But, as always, the beginning of a new year is a great time to set goals!
My companion, Irmã Nkutxi pointed out an interesting observation from the Pearl of Great Price. In Abraham Chapter 4, the chapter summary states ´´The Gods plan the creation of the earth and all life thereon—Their plans for the six days of creation are set forth.´´´It´s interesting to note that it is a godly attribute to plan! If God planned the creation of the earth and everything thereon, how important is it for us to have a plan for our year?! How can we judge our progress or know if we have been successful unless we have a benchmark against which to judge ourselves?
Since I will be on a mission for this whole year, the goals that I set were mainly goals for my mission; what I want to do and who I want to become through my service here. The most important thing to me is to become who my Father in Heaven wants me to be. I invite all of you, if you have not already done so, to think about and set goals for this year. And whenever we have a goal, we need to have a plan of how we are going to achieve that goal. I am grateful for the chance to set goals to improve, and for the help that I have to reach my goals from Heavenly Father.
I love you all! I hope that you have a fantastic beginning to 2010 and that this years brings happiness and blessings to us all :D
I hope that the last week has treated you all well, with lots of play and rest! This was a pretty typical week, with lessons, procurar (searching?), and other acivities. We have an investigator, Julia, who plans to be baptized this coming Saturday, so we have been working a lot with her. She has problems, like every one does, but she has so much faith in Jesus Christ that it is incredible.
This week marked the beginning of 2010- incredible! I can´t believe that we are starting another decade. There was not a big celebration here. We were out and about until 9:30, and there was not really anyone out on the streets (most are inside drinking). There was one firework that went off at 11, but other than that is was a pretty normal night! But, as always, the beginning of a new year is a great time to set goals!
My companion, Irmã Nkutxi pointed out an interesting observation from the Pearl of Great Price. In Abraham Chapter 4, the chapter summary states ´´The Gods plan the creation of the earth and all life thereon—Their plans for the six days of creation are set forth.´´´It´s interesting to note that it is a godly attribute to plan! If God planned the creation of the earth and everything thereon, how important is it for us to have a plan for our year?! How can we judge our progress or know if we have been successful unless we have a benchmark against which to judge ourselves?
Since I will be on a mission for this whole year, the goals that I set were mainly goals for my mission; what I want to do and who I want to become through my service here. The most important thing to me is to become who my Father in Heaven wants me to be. I invite all of you, if you have not already done so, to think about and set goals for this year. And whenever we have a goal, we need to have a plan of how we are going to achieve that goal. I am grateful for the chance to set goals to improve, and for the help that I have to reach my goals from Heavenly Father.
I love you all! I hope that you have a fantastic beginning to 2010 and that this years brings happiness and blessings to us all :D
Monday, December 28, 2009
Happy Holidays Família!
This week feels like it was really long...last Monday we dropped off Irmã White and I began speaking only Portugués. It seems like forever ago! But this week was really good.
On Wednesday we had a mission conferencia de Natal, with all the missionaries except those in the Açores. It was really neat to get to see all the missionaries and feel the power of our combined forces! The Assistants gave a really good training about ´tendes bon animo´(be of good cheer)- it is amazing how many times the Lord tells us that and gives us comfort! No matter what difficulties we may be having, we always have a reason to be of good cheer and to rejoice, because Christ conquered all.
On Christmas Eve, we were walking to an investigators apartment and got slightly off course (it happens...com frequencia). BUT, behind a dumpster one of my companions spotted a big branch from a pine tree lying on the ground. She picked it up and joked about how we don´t have an arvore de Natal. She joked, but I really wanted a Christmas tree!! So, we carried it with us to the rest of our apointments, leaving it in the stairways of apartment buildings. At the end of the night we had a dinner with a member and recent-convert, and we got a ride home. This meant that we had to fit our tree into the car! It was an adventure, but we ended up with a real (well, semi-real, since it was already dead) Christmas tree! Little blessings...
Christmas morning, we opened up the one present that we had from a mysterious Pai Natal. We were surprised to find presents for each one of us! I got a pair of pajamas and a wooden display of the Plan of Salvation in Portugués- optimo! I was reallu surprised and happy for little blessings like that. And we have no idea who is it! It must be a sister in the mission, but it really is a mystery who is Pai Natal.
On Christmas we had lunch with a less active family that is really awesome. I went to their house one of my first days here. It was really interesting (and a relief!) to be able to tell a difference in what I understood there. They had a keyboard, but none of them know how to play it. So I was able to play a couple hymns and Christmas songs, and it was really neat. I am grateful for the talent that I have to be able to share music with others!
On Saturday we had a baptism of a 13yr old girl- Catia. She and her mom have been investigating the church for a little while, but her mom is not married to the less-active member she lives with, so she cannot be baptized yet. During the mission conference on Wednesday, we felt like we should invite Catia to be baptized this week. We did, she said yes, and she was baptized on Saturday! It was really a miracle. Her mom plans to get married in January, so we should be able to baptize her after that.
Sunday night we visited some potential investigators and watched ´Joy to the World´with them. It was the first time I have seen it in years, if ever. It was so awesome! I was so glad for the reminder of the reason we have to rejoice every day. Because of the birth, life, atonement, death, and ressurrection of Jesus Christ, we know what we need to do to find joy and return to our Heavenly Father, and we have the capacity to do it with the help of Christ! In this we can rejoice every day :D
I am grateful for all of you and hope you had an excellant Christmas. Happy New Year, and may 2010 bring us all happiness and joy.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Feliz Natal!
I can hardly believe that Christmas is already this week! Granted, it doesn´t really feel like Christmas to me here...but I´m excited for all the festivities that you are having and for the chance you have to be together (and that I get to talk to you this week :D )
It feels like it has been a long time since the last time I wrote! It´s hard to remember what day it is here...but the week was good. Domingas, an investigator from Cabo Verde was baptized on Saturday! We got a call at 1 am Friday night/Saturday morning from her husband who is a member, and some problems that he has came to light. But, Domingas is really strong and has a testimony of her own, and still wanted to be baptized Saturday. It is so amazing to get to see and help people who are newly coming to a faith in and understanding of Jesus Christ and His gospel. It is His love that makes this time of year (and all others) full of joy and happiness. I think it´s just easier to follow His example this time of year.
As I may have written last week, the theme or motto of this mission is to Find and Fulfill the will of the Lord. So, I have been studying that some in my personal studies and it has been really interesting. One interesting example (of what not to do!) is the people of Limhi in Mosiah 21. They wanted to escape from bondage, and so, acting ´according to their own desires´they tried 3 times to fight their way out. What did they get? Pain and suffering! If we just try to do things our own way without seeking the guidance and will of the Lord, we will get no where! The people of Limhi had to suffer grief and pain before they humbled themselves to turn to the Lord. But, if we follow His will, we won´t escape hard times, but He will support, strenghen, and guide us.
On Saturday after the baptism of Domingas, the ward had a Festa de Natal...which mostly consisted of eating desserts! I tried a lot of stuff, because when am I going to be in Portugal at Christmas again? (except next year!) It was really good!
Merry Christmas to you all, I hope that you have a wonderful week and remember the reason that we have to celebrate every day of our lives- Christ!
Monday, December 14, 2009
I hope everything is well with all of you and that you are ready for Christmas next week! It has been an interesting week here...
I left Utah Tuesday morning, and after three flights (all delayed due to weather) I eventually made it to Lisboa! President and Sister Torgan met me at the airport and I spent the night at the mission home (I am the only new missionary here). The next day all the assisants and secretaries had a training for just me ( lots of attention!). It was kind of funny, because President Torgan doesn´t speak english very well, and some of the missionaries are Brazilian and don´t speak a lot, so the training in english was...an adventure! But, my trainer (Irma Barroso) picked me up and President and Sister Torgan drove us to my first area.
I am serving in Oeiras; right now there are four sisters here. Irma Barroso, my trainer, is from Brazil. The other sister are Irma Nkutxi (from Angola) and Irma White (from the US). Irma White is going home next week, so then I will be in a triplet with two natives! It´s actually pretty fun being with natives, even though it can also be very confusing! But I always have to speak Portugues, which is good for me. I can usually at least have the gist of a conversation (at least if it is related to the gospel so I know the vocab!) My first day here, I talked to a lady on the bus while my companeira was on the phone. I really had no idea of what she was saying, I would just catch a word that I knew and ask another question about that! So, I´m not really sure what happened, but I hope that it went okay!
This is a really nice area that has a ward and a real chapel. Yesterday in sacrament meeting the Primary put on a program, and it was so cute! They had many families from the ward have some theme and talk about how the gospel blesses their family. Then they and the primary would sing a song. I loved it! Little kids and families are so amazing.
Missionary work is coming along here, but we can and need to do a lot more. Hopefully we will be having a baptism this weekend for a wife of member (she is from Cabo Verde). I really enjoy talking to and teaching the people here! (well...I can´t really talk to them yet, but I´ll get there!) Life may be a little different here, but we all essentially struggle with the same things. The gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ can bless the lives of everyone, even if they don´t want to hear it yet!
This morning I was reading in Mosias 7, and thinking about how we are all put in a kind of bondage when we stray from the things we should be doing. I love verse 33 (? the last one) that says if we will return to the Lord with all our heart, trusting in him and giving our mind in all diligence, we will be freed from our bondage. If we just turn to Him and follow Him, we will be freed and find more happiness than we can imagine!
The theme of our mission is to ´seek the will of the Lord and fulfill the will of the Lord´. In everything we do, we seek to do what He would do, and to walk in His path. This is such a great goal!
I left Utah Tuesday morning, and after three flights (all delayed due to weather) I eventually made it to Lisboa! President and Sister Torgan met me at the airport and I spent the night at the mission home (I am the only new missionary here). The next day all the assisants and secretaries had a training for just me ( lots of attention!). It was kind of funny, because President Torgan doesn´t speak english very well, and some of the missionaries are Brazilian and don´t speak a lot, so the training in english was...an adventure! But, my trainer (Irma Barroso) picked me up and President and Sister Torgan drove us to my first area.
I am serving in Oeiras; right now there are four sisters here. Irma Barroso, my trainer, is from Brazil. The other sister are Irma Nkutxi (from Angola) and Irma White (from the US). Irma White is going home next week, so then I will be in a triplet with two natives! It´s actually pretty fun being with natives, even though it can also be very confusing! But I always have to speak Portugues, which is good for me. I can usually at least have the gist of a conversation (at least if it is related to the gospel so I know the vocab!) My first day here, I talked to a lady on the bus while my companeira was on the phone. I really had no idea of what she was saying, I would just catch a word that I knew and ask another question about that! So, I´m not really sure what happened, but I hope that it went okay!
This is a really nice area that has a ward and a real chapel. Yesterday in sacrament meeting the Primary put on a program, and it was so cute! They had many families from the ward have some theme and talk about how the gospel blesses their family. Then they and the primary would sing a song. I loved it! Little kids and families are so amazing.
Missionary work is coming along here, but we can and need to do a lot more. Hopefully we will be having a baptism this weekend for a wife of member (she is from Cabo Verde). I really enjoy talking to and teaching the people here! (well...I can´t really talk to them yet, but I´ll get there!) Life may be a little different here, but we all essentially struggle with the same things. The gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ can bless the lives of everyone, even if they don´t want to hear it yet!
This morning I was reading in Mosias 7, and thinking about how we are all put in a kind of bondage when we stray from the things we should be doing. I love verse 33 (? the last one) that says if we will return to the Lord with all our heart, trusting in him and giving our mind in all diligence, we will be freed from our bondage. If we just turn to Him and follow Him, we will be freed and find more happiness than we can imagine!
The theme of our mission is to ´seek the will of the Lord and fulfill the will of the Lord´. In everything we do, we seek to do what He would do, and to walk in His path. This is such a great goal!
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