transfer 11 week 5

Hello family!!
We had a great week this week working with our members and integrating our investigators with them. We are working with four families right now, one of them we met yesterday. These families are super legal, but we are having a big struggle getting these folks out to church. I really want to blast this last transfer outta the park, giving it all I have and more. I feel super blessed for the opportunity to be working with so many neat families, as I have never encountered so many families to teach at one time. I know with patience, diligence and obedience we can meet our goals and help these families commece on the path that leads to eternal families. we are trying to reactivate another family too, soemthing that is really neat is one of the elders in our zone, his first area in brasil (he also had visa problems and was reassigned to Alabama for 6 months) was Bandeirantes and this family was the very first home he visited. So this last week had a family night and invited him and his companion. We did not say anthing to Elidimar about him coming, we just showed up and said we had a suprise for her. The whole family was so happy to see him, it was a cool experiece. We are working really hard to help people feel the spirit and understand how to make those changes in life that are neccisary to come unto Christ. I really want to make the best of these last 7 weeks.
As much as I joke about being ´´trunky´´ with everyone, and truly I am counting down the weeks, I feel even more of a desire to give all that I have. Im not just going to stop because my time is almost up. Yesterday we had our meeting with our ward mission leader and in the middle of it, I was thinking of some things I could do differently, some activities we could plan for the ward, and I felt so anxious to get out of the chapel and start talking with people on the street about the gospel, and how short this time really is, I just had a thought, minha nossa, (thats like, oh my gosh) I need more time! This is the best time in my life, to truly know what it is to serve the Lord with everything that I am, and everything that I could be. This is the best opportunity to show the Lord how grateful we are for the bountious blessings he gives us, especially to me. To have been born in the gospel, to have felt the sweetness of His Redeeming Love, God is so good to us, we give our lousy 10% and he gives 100% because he loves us that much. As much as sometimes I feel realy discouraged in this work, as people have their agency, I know that I have done my part. I have testified and been sincere in letting people know that I know that this is the only church on the face of the earth that is completely Christ´s, no other has the fulness. I am grateful for the other religions and churches, for the faith that these churches have given people, that in the end prepare them to recieve the fulness of the gospel. I know this is work is of the Lord, and I am grateful for the privelege to have the autority to preach it.
Love you all,
Kristin

transfer 11 week 4

i have only this week and the next left of this transfer, already! the Time really is flying by. Sister De Oliveira and I are really working hard to do better each day so that we can qualify to receive the blessings of the Lord--finding, teaching, and baptising the Lord´s Elect. It is no way an easy task. This past week we spent much of our companionship study hour to study more about the role of the Holy Spirit in our teaching, and in the conversion of our investigators. Without the Spirit, we are teaching the precepts of man, it has to be in the Lord´s way. We have had some realy neat experiences in our teaching where all are being edified, where all can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. We met three families this week to teach, two of them we have to help them get married. People dont always understand that marriage is one of the ten commandments....lol. But we are really excited to work with them. We havent been able to teach them yet because of the weekend of Páscoa, of Easter. when we came for one of our appointments, the father of the family had brought home some friends to celebrate. We´ll just say that of the 6 adults present, only one was in conditions to be taught so we remarked for during the week. As a missionary, i dont really like holidays because its an excuse to get extremely drunk. EVERYONE. So we didnt have a realy good turn out of our investigators going to church, but the Lord blessed us. The parents of Percídio that live out on the farm had come in to visit. His mom was baptised the same period as Ediria and the kids. After the sacrament meeting, Mamedes came up to us and said he wants to be baptised, and very much. We taught him during the sunday school class, his wife had been studying on her own out on the farm and was wanting to know when she can get married in the temple. (it was funny, she said, i finished reading the gospel principles book. I was married in the catholic church, but now I know that only counts for this earth life. We will do 50 years mrried in may, can we get married in the temple then? I answered, when you do 51 years, you can!) It really was a miracle, because he had to be interview by president, and because of certain conditions he´d probably need to wait for more permission, so it wouldnt be until summer. But presidient called upon his conselor here, President Midina and, after his interview he was baptised. Percídio baptised him. IT was so neat, all of their children where there and watched the baptism. Really soften the heart of one of his daughters and she wants us to come by and vist. SCORE!!! baptise the patriach, batise the family!!
We are really excited to kick butt and work super hard this week. I wanna finish off this mission baptising like i have never seen before. Thats what the Lord wants, right? I know that this church is true, the only one with the priesthood, there is no way I could negate that.
Love you all,
Hope ya´ll had a great Easter, remembering Who it is that gave His perfect life for us.

see ya´ll in a few months,
Sister Smith

Photos:
miracle baptism!
one is of the whole family,
and the other is part of the family!
what luck i had fixed my hair yesterday...

transfer 11 week 3

Hope everyone had the opportunity to listen to general conference this weekend, seriously, its such a blessing for us the hear from the lidership of the church. Really recharged my batteries to give me some more gun-ho for these last two transfers. I was really impressed by the testimonies of those who spoke, and the love and compassion they show for us. Without a doubt in my mind this men are truly prophets and apostolos of God. We are so blessed to be living in a time where the gospel is being carried throughout the world, and all the tecnologies that allow todos ouvir the words of the prophet. Did ya´ll know that Elder Scott does his own translation into portuges? Yeah. it was funny, because i leaned over to sister De Oliveira and said, man this translator´s voice is exactly like Elder scott´s.; She laughed at me, uh thats because this IS his voice. Chique de mais! We had two of our less actives of whom we are working with who went to the conference. Super blessing. I think inactives are more difficult to get to church than investigators, I was really happy when i saw them there.
People always said a mission isn´t easy. You can´t really imagine how hard it is until you are in it. There are many moments of sadness, rejection, pain, anquish, frustration, tiredness; Its really hard to see people who have been touched by the holy spirit, who recieve a witness of the varacity of the gospel, and still, wont follow. But what makes up for these moments is the complete joy of seeing some accept and make the changes in their lives. I think you see more challenges and difficulties than the good, but the good is so great it outshines those of the opposite. Im grateful for all those who have had an influence in my life to make those decisions that lead to happiness. Those decisions of choosing the right, keeping the commandents, repenting, making covenants. I am grateful for our Heavenly Father, that he gave me the life and the light i have, to help other people. I know this is the only true church upon the face of the earth, the only church that has the fulness of the gospel, with revelation through a prophet and autority of God. I know this is the plan of happiness, to return back to our Heavenly Parents. I know the book of Mormon is another testmony of our Savior Jesus Christ; that we can resolve any life question by reading her. I know Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the church of Christ.
I love my Savior, I know he lives and loves each one of us with a love we cannot comprehend.
Love this work.
Sister Smith


photo 1: (left to right) sister Heydorn (california) Sister Ramires (Campo grande, she is serving cut time in the place of sister fernandes) Eu e sister De Oliveira (natal)