Monday, July 29, 2013
Miracles Galore
Another Great Baptism Of Another Great Sister
BAPTISM!!!! :) Valhena was baptized! Oh she is so amazing! Her son
Rafeal wanted to also, but I think that it was Valhena that was
trying to convince him to be, because he really doesnt want to. He still
wants to be taught and I am sure that he will be baptized soon.
Oh Valhena is amazing! So we found out that she is not married to her
husband.. He lives in Angola and they are moving to live with them in two
months. We had to explain to her more thoroughly the law of
chastity. That they need to be married and not live together until they
are married. She had a really hard time with this because they have been
together for 15 years and have 6 kids together. Also they have been trying to
get married but her husbands last wife will not sign the devorce papers. She
said she will not live with him until they were married! Oh she is so great!
She also drank coffee and it has been super hard for her to quit. But, she
is using the money that she ususally would spend on coffee to take her family
to church!! Oh she is so amazing! She was willing to do everything and anything
to be baptized. She also had an abortion so she had to be interviewed by the
Cowely relative. Also she told us that she really wants the gospel for her
family and wants to be an example for her family. I told her that she was. I
told her that I always watched and tried to follow what my parents told me and
that she has a huge influence in what her children will do.
True Conversion
Also that drunk man that I wrote about is marked for baptizm on
the 14th of July. His name is Joao and he is so great. He has problems
with smoking! But he is so great every week he will make us herbal tea and have
cookies for us! Oh he is so great! He came to church and said that it was long
haha but liked it.
Also we had 4 investigators at church it was sweet!
Also this week we went to a members father's restaurant this
week. HMMM it was so good!!
A Finding Miracle
There was this man that we stopped in the street and he said that he
didnt have time. Then we went to a different area. We ran into him on a
different street and he said okay I will listen to you because I ran
into twice so this probably means that God needs to talk to me. Then he
listened and said that we would mark a different time to meet. But he pointed
at me and said she can''t come because she is too pretty. I won't be able to
focus. hahah.... So its a good thing this is not my area anymore and the
elders will teach him.
Switching Areas
Also we are switching areas with the elders... I am trying so hard to
look for the positive... UGH!!!!! I want to stay in my area. Also we will stay
in the same house but we will have to travel 30 mins to get to our area.. so
that means we will not get lunch or dinner at our house... Ugh!!! I am going to
miss our ward and the people that we are teaching! But Sister Beard is still
here and so is Sister Pinto and I have the same companion. The area is
Miratejo.
It is getting so hot! I feel like I am melting!!
Finding Joy in the "Portuguese" Journey
Entry into
the Waters of Baptism and the Church
We had a baptism! Yolanda and her daughter Jessica were baptized this
week. Oh I just love them! They were so happy. They said they felt so
different after being baptized. The gospel truly changes people. I love
seeing the change. They are so much happier. They were so easy to
teach and they just couldnt wait to be baptized. They kept saying
thank you thank you thank you! :)
Also we played ping pong with Jessica and some girls in the ward to
help her make friends while her mom was getting interviewed. It was so
much fun!!
Contacting
My companion and I find a lot of new people to teach but it is sometimes a challenge
We had a baptism! Yolanda and her daughter Jessica were baptized this
week. Oh I just love them! They were so happy. They said they felt so
different after being baptized. The gospel truly changes people. I love
seeing the change. They are so much happier. They were so easy to
teach and they just couldnt wait to be baptized. They kept saying
thank you thank you thank you! :)
Also we played ping pong with Jessica and some girls in the ward to
help her make friends while her mom was getting interviewed. It was so
much fun!!
Contacting
My companion and I find a lot of new people to teach but it is sometimes a challenge
to get
the first lesson to not fall through. We will mark a time
and many times they will not be there or not answer their phones. SO
we are working on that.
We taught that English class agian this week. My companion is a little
unorganized and she went wild with the teaching. This one guy looked
like he was going to cry he was so confused. I told her she needs to
and many times they will not be there or not answer their phones. SO
we are working on that.
We taught that English class agian this week. My companion is a little
unorganized and she went wild with the teaching. This one guy looked
like he was going to cry he was so confused. I told her she needs to
remember how we
felt when we are were learning Portuguese.
Next time we are going to plan better. She doesnt really like
to plan. Hahah but I LOVE planning.
We also had zone meeting this week. We learned about how to teach
getting revalation through prayer and reading the scriptures. IT was a
great zone meeting.
Food and
Weather
Also guess what?! I tried fish and I liked it?!!! Yes! Crazy I know!
It had the brains and stomach and eyes and everything! hahah but I
didnt eat that part. ARe you proud of me?
Also guess what?! I tried fish and I liked it?!!! Yes! Crazy I know!
It had the brains and stomach and eyes and everything! hahah but I
didnt eat that part. ARe you proud of me?
It is
sooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. It is
crazy! I dont sleep with covers at night and I dont think I have sweat
so much in my life hahah. Also our gas was turned off so we had cold showers this
crazy! I dont sleep with covers at night and I dont think I have sweat
so much in my life hahah. Also our gas was turned off so we had cold showers this
week, which was
actually refreshing because of the HEAT!!
Happiness In Serving
Contacting
So I LOVE knocking doors. hahhah Everyone thinks I am so wierd and
that I am probably the only missionary that likes knocking doors.
But it is so fun because I just never know what will be on the other side!! ITs
a surprise everytime!! hah I love it!! :) Also everytime we want to
knock a predio (apartment building) the door to get in is always opened for us at the exact
time we need to enter!! It is a miracle!! It is amazing!! :)
that I am probably the only missionary that likes knocking doors.
But it is so fun because I just never know what will be on the other side!! ITs
a surprise everytime!! hah I love it!! :) Also everytime we want to
knock a predio (apartment building) the door to get in is always opened for us at the exact
time we need to enter!! It is a miracle!! It is amazing!! :)
Confirmation
Yolanda and Jessica were confermed this week in church. They are
absolutely amazing!! Oh I love them. They just said that they love
talking to us and that they feel so much better when they have talked to us.
This week we taught them about service and missionary work. Jessica
said that she wants to serve a mission and wants to go around and work
with us every day. The mom is amazing too and said that she has
already invited her friends to church. They are constantly wanting to grow
talking to us and that they feel so much better when they have talked to us.
This week we taught them about service and missionary work. Jessica
said that she wants to serve a mission and wants to go around and work
with us every day. The mom is amazing too and said that she has
already invited her friends to church. They are constantly wanting to grow
and learn more. I shared with them a scripture in Moroni 7: 45-47
about charity never faileth. I talked about how mom use to
tell me that if
you think to do something nice, do it because it never hurts
to do something
nice.
Working Towards Baptism
Also we have another investigator named Neilson and we marked him for
baptism. He has a huge problem with smoking that we need to work with.
Also we are teaching his wife too. We tried teaching them the second
lesson and his aunt was there and the whole time she was telling us we
were wrong.... oh it was so frustrating. But on Sunday he came
to church which was so great. :)
We have another investigator named Aisha. She is wonderful. She is
from Fance and she has already been taught all the lessons. She is so
nice and funny :). She caters food. Oh she reminded me of Caroline
because when we came to teach a lesson, she had the nicest brunch set out
all beautiful for us. It all tasted so good too. HMMMM!!
She had cheese from France wrapped in this raw meet and then this
noodle salad. She also had cookies and juice. It was so nice to be fed such beautifully made and displayed food. She said that she would feed us again. We are really
going to have to work with her to be baptized because she is living
with her boyfriend and I dont think she wants to get married and its
hard to get a word in cause she talks so much. She is 26.
Divisions With the Training Sisters
baptism. He has a huge problem with smoking that we need to work with.
Also we are teaching his wife too. We tried teaching them the second
lesson and his aunt was there and the whole time she was telling us we
were wrong.... oh it was so frustrating. But on Sunday he came
to church which was so great. :)
We have another investigator named Aisha. She is wonderful. She is
from Fance and she has already been taught all the lessons. She is so
nice and funny :). She caters food. Oh she reminded me of Caroline
because when we came to teach a lesson, she had the nicest brunch set out
all beautiful for us. It all tasted so good too. HMMMM!!
She had cheese from France wrapped in this raw meet and then this
noodle salad. She also had cookies and juice. It was so nice to be fed such beautifully made and displayed food. She said that she would feed us again. We are really
going to have to work with her to be baptized because she is living
with her boyfriend and I dont think she wants to get married and its
hard to get a word in cause she talks so much. She is 26.
Divisions With the Training Sisters
Also this week we went on divisions with the sister training sisters!!
It was amazing!! I got to go with sister Warburton! OH she is a fantastic
missionary! When I was with her I felt so much more peace and it was so
much better, I don't know why.. maybe because she knew what she was doing and
she was nice and I could tell she cared about me. Also guess where she
was from... England!! She had the best accent ever! It was so fun
talking to her! i loved her accent! She was so great! She thought our
chapel was really nice. I guess it is the nicest/biggest that she has
seen in Portugal so far. After this division, sister Mullen said that she missed me a lot and
couldn't wait for the day to end with the other sister trainer... idk hahah!! I
was having the best time with the sister trainer. hahah :)
Also Church was great I am starting to understand more and more
Portuguese. We have a huge ward but sister Mullen and I still dont
know very many of them. We need to work with the ward more. But sister
Mullen got sick to her stomuch and so we went to a members for tea and
then we got our first member lunch appointment this transfer!!
It was really hot at the begining of the week, I thought I was
going to die!! But it was nice and cloudy the rest of the week. The
training sisters died of heat when they were here, even though it was one of the cooler cloudy days when they came. hahah.
It was amazing!! I got to go with sister Warburton! OH she is a fantastic
missionary! When I was with her I felt so much more peace and it was so
much better, I don't know why.. maybe because she knew what she was doing and
she was nice and I could tell she cared about me. Also guess where she
was from... England!! She had the best accent ever! It was so fun
talking to her! i loved her accent! She was so great! She thought our
chapel was really nice. I guess it is the nicest/biggest that she has
seen in Portugal so far. After this division, sister Mullen said that she missed me a lot and
couldn't wait for the day to end with the other sister trainer... idk hahah!! I
was having the best time with the sister trainer. hahah :)
Also Church was great I am starting to understand more and more
Portuguese. We have a huge ward but sister Mullen and I still dont
know very many of them. We need to work with the ward more. But sister
Mullen got sick to her stomuch and so we went to a members for tea and
then we got our first member lunch appointment this transfer!!
It was really hot at the begining of the week, I thought I was
going to die!! But it was nice and cloudy the rest of the week. The
training sisters died of heat when they were here, even though it was one of the cooler cloudy days when they came. hahah.
Natalie is Doing REALLY Good :)
Last Week of Being Trained
I cant believe that I only have one more week of being trained. I feel
like I have so much to learn!!!! I will miss my companion and I am
kind of scared to see who my next companion will be. This week in training, I was supposed to teach and lead all the lessons but this was hard because we didnt start until Thursday because of all the moving. But It was good. I feel like I speak
really slow..... But I am trying to be better.
like I have so much to learn!!!! I will miss my companion and I am
kind of scared to see who my next companion will be. This week in training, I was supposed to teach and lead all the lessons but this was hard because we didnt start until Thursday because of all the moving. But It was good. I feel like I speak
really slow..... But I am trying to be better.
Loving Every Moment You Have
This week I learned that we constantly need to be loving every moment of our lives. Many times I will think , ...Oh I will be happy once I am out of this hot sun or I will be happy when
I can speak Portuguese better, etc.....haha I have learn that it is so important to love every single moment. If not, we are choosing to be unhappy! And there are so many wonderful things we will be missing!!
Funny story
So we went to Aisha, our investigator's
house. She starting showing us all her stuff and then she points
at me and says I have a gift for you... hahah! So then she goes and
looks through her lingerie drawer ( dont know how to spell that) and
start pullling out all her fancy underwear!!!! Then she pulls out this lacy
house. She starting showing us all her stuff and then she points
at me and says I have a gift for you... hahah! So then she goes and
looks through her lingerie drawer ( dont know how to spell that) and
start pullling out all her fancy underwear!!!! Then she pulls out this lacy
peach bra and gave it to me!!!! Hahahhahahahhahahah I
never thought I would get lingerie on my mission. I was holding back
tears, trying not laugh! Oh it was so funny. But she is so kind and she
Another quick story so when we were teaching Neilson my comps
sandals was falling apart because she wears them so much and loves
them but he is a shoemaker and he took her shoe and durring the
lesson just rippend it up and started working on it. My comps face
was so funny. She was so worried. hahah but he actually fixed them and
they look really nice.
never thought I would get lingerie on my mission. I was holding back
tears, trying not laugh! Oh it was so funny. But she is so kind and she
has fed us twice. She fed us pasta and this pork thing that
really just looked like a block of fat with a teaspoon of meet. I think
she just likes our company and is not really progressing so
we might need to drop her... :/ I am so sad!! I love her! I wish she would understand and realize the importance of the message we are teaching her.
really just looked like a block of fat with a teaspoon of meet. I think
she just likes our company and is not really progressing so
we might need to drop her... :/ I am so sad!! I love her! I wish she would understand and realize the importance of the message we are teaching her.
Moving
On Wed we moved all day!! hahah It was quite the project!! There
have been missionarys living in our old house a long time! We
still need to go back and clean all the left over stuff that
missionarys have left behind. I really like the new house that we are in.
It is really nice. There are two bathrooms and 4 rooms and a kitchen.
It is modern and nice!! .) Plus there is a great big closet for all
my clothes!! :) The Elders that helped me with my suit cases laughed
at how much stuff I brought!! :)
Engaged...
Also this week in our English class one of the members that is my age
proposed to me. hahah not really he just said that we were going to
get married after my mission. I guess this happens a lot here and most of the sister missionaries will wear a ctr ring on their left hand to discourage this. hahah
On Wed we moved all day!! hahah It was quite the project!! There
have been missionarys living in our old house a long time! We
still need to go back and clean all the left over stuff that
missionarys have left behind. I really like the new house that we are in.
It is really nice. There are two bathrooms and 4 rooms and a kitchen.
It is modern and nice!! .) Plus there is a great big closet for all
my clothes!! :) The Elders that helped me with my suit cases laughed
at how much stuff I brought!! :)
Engaged...
Also this week in our English class one of the members that is my age
proposed to me. hahah not really he just said that we were going to
get married after my mission. I guess this happens a lot here and most of the sister missionaries will wear a ctr ring on their left hand to discourage this. hahah
Progress Of Investigators
11 of our investigators said that they would come to church. But
only 4 showed up. However, the 4 that came really enjoyed church. They
were participating and were trying to learn.
Neilson has not stopped smoking. He doesnt seem like he has a
desire to stop smoking and I think that he doesnt really understand
why being baptized is so important... Ugh. We are also teaching his
family, which are very hard to teach. He and his wife are not married.
11 of our investigators said that they would come to church. But
only 4 showed up. However, the 4 that came really enjoyed church. They
were participating and were trying to learn.
Neilson has not stopped smoking. He doesnt seem like he has a
desire to stop smoking and I think that he doesnt really understand
why being baptized is so important... Ugh. We are also teaching his
family, which are very hard to teach. He and his wife are not married.
I dont know why but every time I get done teaching them I feel
so exhausted.
We have an investigator who is named Ailton and he has been to church
3 times and he is 19 and we still need to teach him a lot more before he can
be baptized. But I think that he will be the next one to be baptized!!
:) He is a friend of a member in our ward.
This week we had family night with a family in our ward. It was with the
relief society president and her family. It was really nice because
Yolanda and Jessica were there and they could see what a family night
looked like. The daughter gave the lesson on families. The
little girl was so funny her name is Anna and she said "now family night
consists of 3 parts lesson games and treats!!" :) We played this
card game that was fun and ate delicious cake and crapes. :)
Later that night we were fed by a member in our ward. Oh it was so
Yummy! It was chicken and rice, which is all the Portuguese eat,
so exhausted.
We have an investigator who is named Ailton and he has been to church
3 times and he is 19 and we still need to teach him a lot more before he can
be baptized. But I think that he will be the next one to be baptized!!
:) He is a friend of a member in our ward.
This week we had family night with a family in our ward. It was with the
relief society president and her family. It was really nice because
Yolanda and Jessica were there and they could see what a family night
looked like. The daughter gave the lesson on families. The
little girl was so funny her name is Anna and she said "now family night
consists of 3 parts lesson games and treats!!" :) We played this
card game that was fun and ate delicious cake and crapes. :)
Later that night we were fed by a member in our ward. Oh it was so
Yummy! It was chicken and rice, which is all the Portuguese eat,
it was really good!! :) I am grateful we were fed more this week because it is
hard to have normal meals without a refrigerator. They were really nice young couple! :)
Another quick story so when we were teaching Neilson my comps
sandals was falling apart because she wears them so much and loves
them but he is a shoemaker and he took her shoe and durring the
lesson just rippend it up and started working on it. My comps face
was so funny. She was so worried. hahah but he actually fixed them and
they look really nice.
Here is a scripture--John 3:16 This proves to me that God love me! He sent his son for us! He atoned for us so we can have eternal life! He atoned for our pains, sins, doubts, fears and everything! I use the atonement everyday!
Changes, A Drunk, Good Food, and Lots of Investigators
Transfers
We found out that my companion, Sister Mullen has to go back to Canada. Her Visa
is wrong and she only has a traveler's visa. She will leave at the end
of this transfer. She will come back to Portugal once she fixes her visa.
We also found out today that Sister Pinto and Sister Beard will be
leaving our apt. and switching areas because Sister Pinto has really bad
allergies in this area. I am so sad!! Sister Beard and I cried! We both thought for
sure we would have one more transfer togetther. Oh I am really going to miss
her!!!
Also I am moving to a new apartment this Wednesday!! Crazy! But we heard that its the
nicest predio in the mission!! I am so excited about that!! :)
Oh I love this area. It is not the prettiest part of Portugal, but I just love the people!
We are teaching so much more in this area than in other areas. We might need to go on
divisions with members so that we can meet all of our teaching
appointments!
Zone Conference
This week we had zone conference. It was amazing!! I learned so much!! We
learned how to teach about the Book of Mormon and use it as a
tool for our investigators. It was very helpful and we have used it many times
this week. Also we ate pizza for lunch with the zone. :)
Don't Teach With a Drunk Present
Oh so crazy story!!! When we went to teach our investigators Jimmy and
Castro, they had a friend there named John who absolutely hated
Americans and went off about how horribable we are... it was
awkward!! Remember when i had never seen a drunk person and i had to act like
one for that play in High School.... hahah now I actually know in an instant if someone is drunk and i know what it smells like... it smells awful. Well, Jimmy was drunk and acting really wierd. It was frustrating because our investigators were really trying to learn and he was being so disruptive. He kept getting up and walking in and out and saying random nothings about
Adam and Eve.... it was so crazy!!! When we were
almost done with the lesson, he comes in again and starts saying
something really loud and starts playing with his belt and
undressing!! I was freaking out!! My mind was going a million miles
an hour!!! I looked for the fastest excape... I was thought
maybe if I push this tv at him I can sprint for the door. But all I
did was closed my eyes and when I opened them a minute later, luckily he only
took off his shirt. I guess he wanted to show us where he got shot. He
had this huge hole in his chest.. oh it was the craziest thing
ever!!!! Yeah...
We had a recent convert member with us to help us on that lesson and I
We found out that my companion, Sister Mullen has to go back to Canada. Her Visa
is wrong and she only has a traveler's visa. She will leave at the end
of this transfer. She will come back to Portugal once she fixes her visa.
We also found out today that Sister Pinto and Sister Beard will be
leaving our apt. and switching areas because Sister Pinto has really bad
allergies in this area. I am so sad!! Sister Beard and I cried! We both thought for
sure we would have one more transfer togetther. Oh I am really going to miss
her!!!
Also I am moving to a new apartment this Wednesday!! Crazy! But we heard that its the
nicest predio in the mission!! I am so excited about that!! :)
Oh I love this area. It is not the prettiest part of Portugal, but I just love the people!
We are teaching so much more in this area than in other areas. We might need to go on
divisions with members so that we can meet all of our teaching
appointments!
Zone Conference
This week we had zone conference. It was amazing!! I learned so much!! We
learned how to teach about the Book of Mormon and use it as a
tool for our investigators. It was very helpful and we have used it many times
this week. Also we ate pizza for lunch with the zone. :)
Don't Teach With a Drunk Present
Oh so crazy story!!! When we went to teach our investigators Jimmy and
Castro, they had a friend there named John who absolutely hated
Americans and went off about how horribable we are... it was
awkward!! Remember when i had never seen a drunk person and i had to act like
one for that play in High School.... hahah now I actually know in an instant if someone is drunk and i know what it smells like... it smells awful. Well, Jimmy was drunk and acting really wierd. It was frustrating because our investigators were really trying to learn and he was being so disruptive. He kept getting up and walking in and out and saying random nothings about
Adam and Eve.... it was so crazy!!! When we were
almost done with the lesson, he comes in again and starts saying
something really loud and starts playing with his belt and
undressing!! I was freaking out!! My mind was going a million miles
an hour!!! I looked for the fastest excape... I was thought
maybe if I push this tv at him I can sprint for the door. But all I
did was closed my eyes and when I opened them a minute later, luckily he only
took off his shirt. I guess he wanted to show us where he got shot. He
had this huge hole in his chest.. oh it was the craziest thing
ever!!!! Yeah...
We had a recent convert member with us to help us on that lesson and I
it freaked her out. She said that she is bringing a
gun with her next time. She also said that after this experience that she had doubts
if the church was true.. AHH!! So we sat down and had a lesson with
her. What was amazing is that the day before I had found a perfect scripture
for her that made her feel better. Helaman 5:12. I love this
scripture!!!!!!!! :)
gun with her next time. She also said that after this experience that she had doubts
if the church was true.. AHH!! So we sat down and had a lesson with
her. What was amazing is that the day before I had found a perfect scripture
for her that made her feel better. Helaman 5:12. I love this
scripture!!!!!!!! :)
Getting Fed Mmmmm... And the Feast of the Gospel
Also Aisha fed us twice!!! She just loves to cook. She made a huge
meal pizza, potatoes, salad, cake, egg stuff, and fish!! Oh it was
wonderful!!!! But her family is always there and its always really loud so we need to
teach her at the church so that it is more quiet.
We also taught Jessica and Yolanda this week. I love them, oh I love
them so much!!! They are amazing!!! We watched the restoration video
with them and we will be having family night with them and a member
this week. Jessica also wants to come out and work with us :)
Also Neilson is marked for baptism still, but we need him to stop
smoking!! We also need to teach his whole family. His cousin
wants to be baptized but she doesnt believe in God. We going to start to work and teach
her this week.
We have so many progressing investigators that have
potential to be baptized, oh I am so excited!! One is Brazilian and he
is great but he was not at church this week so he is no longer marked.
Also one named Silvana, truely wants to know if this is
the true church. Oh she is amazing I know that she will recieve an
answer. :)
I love this work!! I love the gospel! I am happy I am a missionary. I love teaching the people of Portugal the gospel. It was an amazing week of teaching so many people.
Also Aisha fed us twice!!! She just loves to cook. She made a huge
meal pizza, potatoes, salad, cake, egg stuff, and fish!! Oh it was
wonderful!!!! But her family is always there and its always really loud so we need to
teach her at the church so that it is more quiet.
We also taught Jessica and Yolanda this week. I love them, oh I love
them so much!!! They are amazing!!! We watched the restoration video
with them and we will be having family night with them and a member
this week. Jessica also wants to come out and work with us :)
Also Neilson is marked for baptism still, but we need him to stop
smoking!! We also need to teach his whole family. His cousin
wants to be baptized but she doesnt believe in God. We going to start to work and teach
her this week.
We have so many progressing investigators that have
potential to be baptized, oh I am so excited!! One is Brazilian and he
is great but he was not at church this week so he is no longer marked.
Also one named Silvana, truely wants to know if this is
the true church. Oh she is amazing I know that she will recieve an
answer. :)
I love this work!! I love the gospel! I am happy I am a missionary. I love teaching the people of Portugal the gospel. It was an amazing week of teaching so many people.
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