Amazing!!

View from the back porch!

Ola!! Can't believe that its P-Day again already. Time truly does fly by here.

Monday: Sister Rojas and I had Noite Familiar with Irma Deborah, Irmão Robson, and a part member family. Irma Natara is a member and her husband Fabio is not. Irma Deborah gave a beautiful lesson, and afterwards Sister Rojas and I did a little message about the Atonement. The Spirit was very strong as we testified to Fabio, and we could all tell that he felt the Spirit as he sat there holding their 6 (ish) year old son. We invited him to be baptized on the 7th of June and he accepted!!! Everybody was so happy. It was beautiful.

Tuesday: Somebody in one of our street contacts couldn't understand me, or at least said that he couldn't... awkward. But then, later, another street contact said that my Portuguese was super good!! I choose to believe the second guy. He was nicer and more receptive anyway.
Basically, all of our appointments fell through. Oh well! Carry on! That night, we were supposed to have a joint Noite Familiar member present lesson with the other sisters in our ward. However, when we got there, we discovered that they had to cancel it. We'd made cake for it, and were disappointed. The other sisters had appointments cancel on them all day too. So... There we were, sitting at an onibus stop in Brasil, eating chocolate cake. It was perfect, hilarious, and fun.
Plus!! While we were eating away our disappointments, a lady came to wait for an onibus, and we had a really good gospel conversation with her. It was awesome!! We were able to clear a lot of things up and answer a lot of her questions. Everything happens for a reason.

Wednesday: Happy birthday, mom!!! Hope it was amazing!! I ate some chocolate cake for you.

We were supposed to have a joint mission conference with the Sao Paulo Interlagos mission, with Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, but unfortunately, it was cancelled. Something was going on in Sao Paulo, and President Tanner told us that we needed to stay indoors all day, and not leave for anything.
But! It was a good day! Sister Price, in our home ward, suggested something very profound in my halfway mark package. She suggested that when I make it to a year, that I should make goals for my life after the mission. So, since on Wednesday I was only 15 days away from one year and I had plenty of time, that is just what I did!! It was amazing, and I feel like the goals I made were really inspired.
At 6, we got the okay to go out and get to work, so we did a lot of contacting!! It was fun.
That night, we were super hungry so we ordered pizza. And oh my goodness, was it good! My favorite was the frando com catupiri (I think thats how you spell it..) and it was delicious!

Thursday: We got caught in a downpour, which was super fun! No really, I love rain. It was a good thing we were close to the house, so we could stop by and grab an umbrella.

Caught in the rain

That night, we had a lesson with Vera, our investigator who came to church. I knew right away that something bad was coming though. And I was right. Well, I guess I should say that the Spirit warned me. Vera told us that she didn't want us to teach her anymore, but that she loved church, but was done and didn't want to learn any more. It was just so sad. I really felt, I think, part of how the Savior feels when people reject Him. It is so sad, because you know exactly what they're missing out on.

Friday: We had a lesson with an investigator named Maria and Irmão João. That went pretty well! I gave the opening prayer, and after, Irmão João asked me how long I'd been in Brasil. When I told him 4 weeks, he didn't believe me and told me that my Portuguese was very good!! That made me feel good. I was also able to follow the Spirit a lot, and testify strongly to Maria that she WILL receive an answer about what we are teaching her. The Spirit was very strong.
Also, I made Sister Rojas laugh her head off while tracting. To keep things fun, we were telling stories. I told her the story of how in 6th grade, during a math test, I was wounded by a pencil and to this day I still have pencil lead in my hand. I guess the way I told it was just funny because she kept laughing and laughing.

Saturday: We had another lesson with Fabio!! It was my turn to start off the lesson, and I was able to speak and do everything that the Spirit told me to do!! It felt good to know that I was able to really help him out. He made some goals to progress towards baptism, and he seems like he is really and truly and earnestly seeking for answers. His wife, Irma Natara, went through the temple on Saturday, and so that was neat. I am confident that next year, they will be able to be sealed as a family for all time and eternity in the temple. This truly is the work of eternity and happiness :)
Also, a dude named Pedro said that I practically sound like a native. I am pretty sure he was trying to flirt with me, but hey, I'll take what I can get as far as Portuguese goes.
We also visited Irma Alice. She has been having a rough time lately, so we were able to really listen to her. Sister Rojas shared a great scripture, and asked what her favorite hymn was so we could sing it to her. She told us Bela Sião. So, we sang it. The Spirit was super strong and she shed a few tears. She thanked me for my strong voice, and bore a little of her testimony. I was able to bear my testimony to her as well. The Spirit was so strong, so tangible. It was amazing.

Sunday: After church, an 8 year old named Artur got baptized!! It was such a precious moment. His father was so overcome with the Spirit and emotion. I am so glad I was able to be there to be part of it. It was just so beautiful.
We had a member present lesson with Irma Vilma and two teenage girls. The Spirit was strong as we watched the Restoration DVD and testified of the truthfulness of the First Vision, of the prophet Joseph Smith, and of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Truly, it was amazing.
That night, we had a meeting with our ward mission leader, so that was pretty good. His wife made us popcorn, and I was so, so happy!!!

I guess the best word to describe everything and all the miracles here is amazing. I truly feel so blessed to be here.

I love y'all!

Sister Shell