Tuesday, June 3, 2014

June 2, 2014

Baptism of Jo!  Colinas do Sul, Brazil




Querida Família,

Sounds like you guys had an awesome trip!  America is a really great place.  So is Brasil.  Who´s ready for the Copo do Mundo?? That picture of Eric fishing reminded me of Elder Holland´s devotional.  You can´t just go fishing, Eric, your life will NEVER be the same. Get to work!  haha just kidding you guys are awesome.

A lot of really great things happened this week, always in the way the Lord plans it and not the way we expect.  Jo was confirmed, and I´ll try to send pictures.  She is doing really great.  This week she said ´´Knowing this church is true is just a question of listening.  If anyone just listened they would know´´ and we´re like ´´WE KNOW´´.  She is really funny and just making friends in the ward super fast.  I love Jo, and I know she´s really one of the people who was waiting for me here.
  
Maria came to church and bore her testimony yesterday, and it was really really good!  It was such a confirmation that the work I´m doing here is good.  I really had nothing to do with it, but the Lord found me worthy enough to be trusted with His elects.  And our ward is starting to really see that now.

Things are slowly starting to happen in this ward.  There are TONS of problems, but it´s the little victories you´ve got to celebrate.  We finally had a meeting with our ward missionaries, and Marcos, a super cool RM took charge and we started to really make plans to have each recent convert be visited each week and to get the ward to start giving references.  It was a good start.  We also had a ward choir practice which I directed, and that is something I always wanted to get started.

We´ve had a lot of good experiences with less active members this week.  We found by chance WAY at the end of our area a lady named Ana Cristina.  She stopped going because of the distance and also a lot of personal problems with the ward.  She was the director of the choir back when it was strong and worked in the Young Women.  We just passed by on the street and she was really happy to talk with us; she´s a fan of Sisters.  After talking to her for a little bit I felt like I had never related so much to someone on my mission, from her love of animals right down to feeling of sadness and loneliness she felt.  It was just like how I was many times in my life, but this had been going on for many more years for her.  It was just a really personal heart to heart kind of lesson and I felt really guided to her house that day.  

So it´s been a good week.  It´s been really hard but I know the Lord has a reason for everything.  I got really emotional in my studies this morning reading Alma 6, when Alma just really wanted a transfer from Amoniha.  They spit on him and kicked him out of the city.  I´ve never been spit on, but I know the feeling of being cast out.  But the same angel that called Alma to repentance came to him again to comfort him, and to tell him that his works were good.  And then what happened?  Alma didn´t get a transfer, he was told to go back.  But there he found Amulek.  The Lord has a purpose in everything.

I´m so grateful for my Savior and the strength it gives me to learn more about Him each day, in the study, prayer and experience.  I know He lives and this is His church.  I love you all so much and I´m so proud of all of you.

Sister Johnson´s leg is a lot better now, she just took some antibiotics and it´s fine.  The dog is fine too.  Animal adventures happen.  I saw a wild tarantula this week and a monkey eating a banana in someone´s house.  It´s super hot here always but we´re entering the rainy winter this month.  Just the church has air conditioning.  The church is true.  

Have an awesome week!  

Beijos!

Sister Moore

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