Our Skype with Sister Bailey was wonderful!! She is so happy and healthy! The Lord has really taken care of her and us while she has been serving the people of Brazil.
We thought it would be fun to do the 'thumb thing' that so many Brazilian missionaries do in pictures. It really means baptism and becomes a sign of love and respect for their investigators.
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Y'all have no idea!!!!!!!! I am so excited to talk to yáll on Christmas!!!!!!!!!!! I really can´t believe another year has come and gone and it is already Christmas time again. Let´s all say a prayer that I will be able to speak English :)
Here in Manaus we are in the rainy season. Which is kinda good because it is a WHOLE LOT COLDER, buuuuuut it stinks to be walking in the rain 24/7. My poor Chacos are going to just break in half any day now. And they stink because when it rains the streets flood with water... which isn´t actually water... it is 50% sewage and 50% rain water :/ Manaus has a real problem with their drainage system. And yesterday my umbrella broke :(((( It almost lasted the whole 18 months... all my stuff is breaking or running out. It is super funny because my companion is very short, and I am huge here compared to everyone else soooo we are using that to our advantage. When the people are staring, we stop and use the opportunity to make a contact! This week was pretty uneventful. My former companion, Sister da Rosa, is training a new American Sister. She hardly understands anything...poor thing. But the struggle makes you stronger! I am amazed that is easier for me to speak Portuguese than English now. The Lord has blessed me so much!!!! Time is passing so quickly. I am trying to take advantage of every moment because I know I will miss it so much when I get home. I am happy and healthy. On Friday of this week we have our mission Christmas conference and since they celebrate Christmas on the 24th here, we are going to an awesome family's house to eat and celebrate with them on the 24th!!! I am so excited. I hope yáll feel the Christmas spirit and most of all remember why we are celebrating. I know Christ lives. I feel Him close to me in every lesson, every time I read the scriptures, and especially when I kneel and pray. He is real. He is the reason for this wonderful season. What will you give to Him this Christmas? COM AMOR, Sister Bailey We have an investigator named Marc. His girlfriend was baptized about a year ago. She introduced him to the church and he has been receiving the missionary lessons for about a month. He was 100% ready to be baptized, but said that he hadn´t received an answer yet. We prayed and decided to take him to visit the Manaus temple. We walked on the temple grounds and then took him to sit in the visitors center. We gave him a piece of paper and said he was to write down the feelings he had inside the temple and what he would do or change to enter in the temple one day. After, we went outside and sat on the temple grounds to give a lesson. Before we could even begin he turned to us and said, `` I received my answer. This church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. I want to be baptized.`` The spirit was so strong in that moment. I admire the people that have such faith to search, pray, receive an answer AND are able to recognize it. He was baptized on Sunday at the stake center with many other people from other wards. It was an experience to never forget!!!
Oh yeah and I got transferred back to Adrianópolis!! My companion is Sister Vazquez from Argentina. I think the Lord is telling me I need to learn Spanish because I have had like 10000 Hispanic companions! Have a great week! and be safe! <3 Pictures of our temple trip, baptism, and parrots outside our house!!! I have switched companions yet again. Sister Chaar got super sick and had to go home. :( My testimony of Priesthood blessings has grown sooooooooooo much. I am with another short term missionary from Cuari (a small city that you can only get to by boat). She was serving in Chile but had knee problems and had to come home. She is serving as a short term here to see if she will be able to return to here mission in Chile. So we're practically opening this area up together. It is pretty funny the distance we walk everyday. I have no idea how I am still gaining weight. ugh!
Other than that this week was normal. Just trying to stay focused and work these last three months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love y'all. Next Monday is transfers and I am not sure what will happen. Maybe I will go back to Adrianopolis but either way I will probably get a new companion. I WILL BE ENTERING IN MY LAST TWO TRANSFERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have the best week! P.S. We had to buy all new housewares for our apartment. There was very little when we got there. This is a picture of my shopping trip :) |