Week 2 Transfer8

JACA!!!!!!!!! Our neighbors are awesome, last week Moses brought me a jaca, I´d heard so much about that fruit from Sister Morais, and seen it in the streets of Cuiabá but they were never ripe, until now. So Im pretty sure starburst use this flavor, thats what it reminds me of is a starburst. I will miss very much the fruits in the streets, you really just cant go hungry walking down the road, between the jaca, manga, e acerola. Our new zone is pretty darn awesome, my zone leader from two transfers ago, elder conceição got transfered to here, so ive been pretty pumped to work with him again. Okay, so he´s probably been my favorite zone leader here in brasil; he´s funny and hardworking. Sunday was one of the best scrament meetings ever; it was all done by the primary, it being the primary presentation. I´ve never been in a primary presentation that I can rembmeber the spirit being so strong that almost everyone in the audience was crying and so were the children. It was a super neat experience; the primary did all the prayers and even played the hymns and lead the music. When it ended, everyone was joyfuly embracing. I imagined thats what a meeting in the Celestial Kingdom will be like. Our training with Elder Bednar was so wonderful. Like it was nothing like you could imagine. It wasnt a talk, and it was completely lead by the spirit. It was a pattern for teaching as we learned. I learned alot of things to do better in my teaching. Elder Bedar was direct and to the point about everything and did a lot of questions. Thats how we learn, durrrh.. And he left an hour or two open just for us to make questions for him. One elder stood up and said he had a question from his mom, his family lives in an area of manaus where the church is really isolated and she´d never have such an opportunity. Her question was what is it like to be at the side of President Monson. Bednar spoke about how Monson stops and talks with everyone and is so full of love. Its incredible. I got more of a sense of the responsiblity my nametag holds; Elder Bednar spoke of how we truly are doing things in the name of Christ, and that if we fail to help someone progress who could have, we are under condemnation. This work is urgent. Heavenly Father wants all His children return to Him. This work isnt just part time, or just for missionaries. The work of sharing the gospel is a full time calling for all of us. If we are not seeking opportunities to share with others, we are failing our life mission. Its not just to get yourself back home, but get your family. And if it is that we are all children of God, we are all family. And so we must do what we can to bring our brothers and sisters the opportunity to recieve and follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this work. I love our Family. Have a great week everyone, ya´ll are in my prayers. Kristin ps. photos 1 and 2: jaca photo 3: my ´´cousin´´ elder smith from WY photo 4 sister smith, sister lima, sister fierra, sister chatwin THE AWESOME SISTERS OF JUCA!

transfer 8 week 1

okay, so I just spend a lot of time trying to send my letter to president, sometimes applications fail to work properly.

so just want to say I love you all very much!

its raining like crazy today!

I have been doing splits with sister chatwin and I have been very bad and talking alot of english with her.

didnt realize how much I missed speaking in my native tounge!

the week in photos:

photo 1: last monday. the sky here is beautiful

photo 2: im sister cinderella tuesday

photo 3: elder chictchury turns 22! i did the one on the end, with the elder barfing.

photo 4: today! in the rain!

photo 5: baptism of Zelia, shes awesome

Transferencia 7 semana 6

I can´t believe we are already on our last week of this transfer! the last few weeks have been kinda difficult, as sister chatwin has been really sick, we have been doing splits so I have been working with her in my area, but she hasnt had the strenght to work more than a few hours each day. Its amazing though how even when your best isnt enough, God always makes up for the rest of it and sees what it was. Like I was really thinking all our numbers would be low for church, few recent converts, no less actives, no investigators. We had three recent converts and 5 less actives at church, our efforts with our less actives paid off! The neat thing is through these less actives we are finding more people to teach, finding families who are only part members. I really am praying that this week sister lima and I can come across a miracle and have a baptism this week. This work is not easy; sure the baptism rate is higher in brasil than in other places, but we work so hard to get these people to understand and to feel and to accept the gospel. I have to admit when I was coming here leaving lousiana, I had the terrible misconception that the work would be easier. I know that I work a whole lot harder than I did in my previous mission. When you know it is possible to baptise weekly, you have that in your mind, that if you dont find someone, you truly are wasting the Lord´s time, you are failing your purpose as a missionary. I think this week has been my mid-mission crisis. Not that I know everything of how to be a missionary, heaven forbid I would ever think that, but I have had the training, and I know what more or less should be done, and the language isnt as big as a set back as it once was; so why am I struggling so hard to find people to teach? find people to invite? find people to baptise? I have had to do a lot of thinking this week, have had more time to think as I havent been able to work like normal. I still don´t know the answers, but there is one thing I do know. That God loves me. And because He loves me, He makes me struggle on my own sometimes so that I can turn to Him. I have learned that if you ask something, with only thinking of doing His will, and then do all that you can to try and attain it, God will give it to you. But if you arent willing to go all the way and just a little bit further, you aren´t going to land where you want.

Last night after closing our numbers, the sisters of julio de castilho let off some stress and had a blast.

So it started with drawing a tear drop one sister and it ended up with hitler mustaches and a fashion show.

Best night on the mission ever, well, funnest night ever. I dont think I have laughed so hard in a long time. I will be sending some pictures soon of that little event. hope it gets there in time for christmas!

oh and I finaly got that second package if I forgot to mention, THANK you for all the little goodies., we enjoyed much of the peanut butter last night. :)

photo 1. sister lima and I

photo 2. orelhão: phone booth!

photo 3. my mini foot with the grande hand of my comp.

semana 5 transferencia 7

can i just say this transfer is flying by? like what the heck here! I have plans that time just doesnt want to give room for. Im pretty excited for this night of proselytismo, we are having a family home evening night with some members who are inviting non member friends and we are bringing some young men who the elders referred to us whom they´d contacted in the street. (AND we are going to eat tapioca. tapicoca isnt like pudding here, its more like a fluffly tortia that you can serve sweet or salty. I didnt like it the first time, but I love it now, Sister Lima learned how to make it so I´ve gained a good two pounds off of the treats she makes.)

Its so wonderful to work with the members, im starting to know where members live and which are open to helping out so our work with members should improve. We had a special meeting this week with president oliveira were we learned better techniques to work with members active and less active, we are working alot with less actives to find new people to teach. We have new neighbors that we drank terreré with them this past week and invited them for church (terére is like an herbal tea that is cold and you use a filtered straw to drink. its like the typical thing to drink here) and saturday night they passed by and knocked on our door to say they´d be going with us the next morning! yay! we were nervous they would cancel because of the rain, but they went and liked the meeting. they are pretty strong in their own religion, but hey, if hearts are open, the holy spirit can testify of the truths we are sharing.

THis truly is the work of the Lord, just hope that I dont get in the way too much of alowing the work to be done through me.

love sister smith

Week 4 transfer 7

I just finished reading the book of mormon, I read almost the whole thing in portuges. I wanted to read it a second time in the language, but I decided to try the bible. its more difficult but I need to have more of a testimony of the bible. seriously, I dont feel the same about the bible as I do the book of mormon. bom, im only going to read the new testament and then return to the book of mormon. The old testament is difficult enough in english!

We had a suprise transfer this past week too, one of our visa waiters finally recieved her visa, so sister sorensen went to durados (i hope that will be my next area after here) and sister fernandes is ``training`` sister chatwin. Poor little thing, she got really sick yesterday. I think its a combination of the hot sun (she left new hampshire, it was cold there) and the heavy food. I honestly never had problems with the food, but i think thats because im used to eating good, its part of being a kunz, right? hearty food and hard labor!

This week has been a really good week, im loving working with sister Lima. She has a golden heart, and she helps me to see the tender mercies God me gives each day. We have had some good little experiences together that has really got the fire in my heart turning into a bonfire for this work. IT was funny, saturday sister Lima asked me if we will run next week. And I said, yes, will will run to find our baptisms. Ela started to laugh, não, como run for our exersizes in the morning. oh. yeah... I want miracles and more amazing experiences, so I cant really help it if the only thing i think about is baptism. I definately have developed a testimony about baptism, its not something you wait for. With out baptism, we are hell bound, really we are. now if people would just understand how important it is to have the right authority... I know that after the death of Christ and His Apostolos the authority to preach and baptise in the name of Christ was taken off the earth, and wasnt re established until Joseph Smith recieved it of peter james and john. How fortunate am I to have had this knowldge my whole life and now to be able to share it with others. Its so clear to me that this is Gods work, and this is God´s Kingdom on earth, when I feel the spirit testify so strongly to me and to those who listen to Joseph´s experience in the sacred grove. I am so grateful for those tender mercies Heavenly Father gives to me that lets me know that I am making a difference in someone´s life, or that I am being an instrument in His hands. I dont want to think about that day when I will be released from this calling, I know that I will miss these feelings very much.