October 14, 2013

Oi abencoados!!

This was kind of a tougher week for the work.  We received a list of inactives from the bishop the other day and it was just the saddest thing in the world sitting there as he went through all of the names individually and it took SO long and we just can tell he is so tired.  I think he´s been bishop a long time and he really is tired of the acummilating membros afastados.  Mostly it made me think about President Monson telling us to rescue, so that´s gonna be my new word for the next transfer: RESGATAR!  President Costa of the 70 specifically promised our mission that for every reactivation we´ll have a baptism.  It´ll definitely be hard and a lot of people will waste our time, but I know that´s what Brasil needs.

The best part of this week was seeing some of Sister Seal´s recent converts REALLY change, especially Eduardo.  He is so funny and I was really annoyed with him the first time we met because he started drinking again and stopped going to church right fter baptism.  But he saw the bishop finally and since then he actually has repented and it´s the coolest thing in the world.  He even brought a friend to church and gives us the best references.  He even did street contacts with us a couple of times all decked out like a missionary with his book of mormon, bible and pamphlets.  It´s so funny and adorable.  He´s one of the ones with no teeth who I just assumed was crazy but he really gives me hope for all the people here.  One day we´ll meet everyone as resurrected children of God and in that sense we´re all equal.  I always try to remember that now before I pass someone by.

The worst thing this week is that both of my baptisms still aren´t confirmed..  Cleonice is traveling because her son is very sick but Antonio suddenly has to work every Sunday after telling us he doesn´t work.  It is just so stressful feeling like you´ve baptized someone who won´t even come long enough to get confirmed.  Cleonice is very strong and I´m not as worried but I just don´t know if Antonio was ever telling us the truth.  I guess that´s just agency.  The other thing that happened this week is that Dagna´s baptism fell through.  It was because her son has Denge but it was still really sad, we had the font all ready and she didn´t call us or anything.  She is still my favorite investigator that we have.  She feels the spirit so strongly and is so willing to change to follow the church.  She even brought her son to an activity and was actively trying to make friends.  Hopefully her baptism isn´t postponed for too long.  Satan has a way of getting to people.  I´m just praying for her son, he´s only 6 and the thought of him with Denge is the saddest thing ever.

Time is FLYING.  I can´t believe my first tranfer is almost over. There is a good chance I´ll be training next week.  No one knows!  Here they don´t tell you about tranfers until 9 the night before.  I´m really good no matter what happens, I would like to finish my own training, but if I have to train it will a great learning experience.  I would really love to have a Brasilian companion.  The language really is coming well though.  I love talking to all the members.  There really are some special families.  One couple just seems like they could be a part of our family, the way their little house is decorated and their sense of humor.  That picture I sent was from Sister Seal´s birthday where our ward pretty much threw a surprise party.  It was so funny.  I just love them.

I still don´t understand exactly how to use family history to do missionary work but that sounds really interesting.  We teach people so fast I think the temple might overwhelm them, but it would be great to teach the recent converts.  I think when I get home I really want to get more into family history.  I can for sure take a class at BYU on it.  WOO HOO!!!  I haven´t thought about it too much, but I still think history is what I´m supposed to do.  

That´s funny that Michael works at a pretzel shop.  Tell him he needs to go on a mission :)

Bishop Glenn really was a special bishop.  Keep helping the missionaries!!  They need it!!  I´m so glad we are a missionary family.  We´ve been talking a lot about the second coming in our apartment, and how we think the prophet at some point will make an announcement to move all the saints to the mountains.  It´s not doctrine, but I´ve just been thinking a lot about how I wouldn´t be suprised if the faithful had a test like that in the last days.  If the prophet one day made an announcement to leave everything behind and go somewhere, would we do it?  The second coming is just the most interesting thing in the world to study, and we´re told to be watchful right?  

I love you all so much!!  Time is going by too fast here!  Christmas is only in like 10 more weeks!  Haha trunky moment.  

Feliz Anniversario Pai!  Eu mandou uma carta, mas nao recebera no tempo certo :(  Nao temos um correio em nossa area.  Mas, eu espero que tenha um dia MARVILHOSA!!!  Eu sinto saldades de voce! Mesmo que voce e um pouco doido a veces.  Amo voce!

Com besos e abracos,

Sister Moore

October 7, 2013

Sister Johnson and Sister Moore with Brazilian Kittens

No baptisms but here´s some kittens!!  

"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." Elder Uchtdorf  That quote was the same one  me and my companion decided was the quote of the conference. I don´t know what it is, but I can see Elder Scott being the next prophet.  I just feel a lot of love in his voice when he speaks.   Conference just makes me realize how important families are in the plan of salvation and how the world cannot change eternal truths.  It is so evident here in Brasil where almost every home doesn´t has a father figure or people are just living together.  Marriage is just not valued here because it is expensive. 

One of the speakers said something along the lines of ``how would you feel if someone made a committment every week and never kept it?" and I just started laughing because that is  my life every day.  We are a covenant making people and that is where our blessings come from.  We have to hold up our part and LIVE our beliefs.

Natal means Christmas,  I´ll give you my Anniversario list later ;)  I could buy a watch,  but we only use our little allowance from the mission  that pretty much covers food bus and email..   it´s all good though.  Comfortable, durable shoes aren´t really a thing here.  Just stilettos and flip flops.

A couple of families asked me to sing during lessons, but I don´t have a lot of Portuguese hymns memorized.  I guess I could carry around my little Hino.  Transfers are coming  up so maybe I´ll sing in church again.  Music really does invite the Spirit.  I really do want to be in the MoTab choir someday if I can.  They really make conference what it is.

My President is Presidente Nogueira.  We didn´t find anyone to baptize that day but Sister Johnson and Willette did which was funny and awesome because they had been struggling a lot.  He was a pretty crazy guy but at least he was at conference.    We have a washing machine and we hang our clothes outside on our little caged in patio thing.  P-days we pretty much email, shop and sleep.  Nothing really great.  But some members got us two pizzas  so it´s gonna be a party!  We make no-bakes pretty much every day.  For conference I made french toast for everyone. 

I´m making it a life goal to make my kids look forward to conference like Christmas.   As a missionary it really is like Christmas.  Two whole days of sitting down and four opportunities to have people in church.  We had Dagna at the first session. She is one of my favorites but she´s progressing slowly because she´s actually sane.  She has a really cute 6-year-old son  who pays attention to every meeting and is really smart.  That really is rare..  Brasilian children are generally not well behaved.  You can hear it from outside the schools. Another one of our investigators does nothing but stay home all day with three awful grandchildren, like I´m not going to lie, they are so annoying.  They don´t wear clothes and they just scream  in all our lessons and I feel so bad for their poor Grandma. Another reason the traditional family is so important.  Those parents are never there.

I definitely don´t have time to talk about all our people because there are SO many and you never know who will actually keep commitments.  Things are still going great!  I love Brasil and I will try not to come home on a mobility scooter from being too fat.     I think we walk enough that it won´t happen :)  I am just so glad I am here learning all the things I´m learning. A mission is the biggest blessing in the world.

I love you and am praying for Longmont!  Keep being good missionaries!  You are doing exactly what all members should be doing and it´s so awesome!!!

Muito amor,

Sister Moore

September 30, 2013

Oi Querida Familia!

Well here´s another baptism picture!!  Haha I think you will see a lot but here you literally can´t count on any baptism until they´re in the water.  This is Antonio, we met him a week ago and he had already been to church and was just the most prepared man I´ve ever seen.  What really impressed me was that he was ALWAYS waiting for us outside which no one ever does.  In his first prayer out loud, he said he already knows he´s on the right path.  Baptisms here are really interesting.  A member of the bishopric chewed us out literally right before the baptism about baptising too fast.  But this is literally how it works here and our district leader, who is the coolest guy ever, was really the one who marked the baptism for us in church. I´m just trying still to understand how this mission works but I know it´s supposed to be this way.  I just really want the ward to trust us.  A lot of Sister Seal´s converts haven´t been coming to church.  We visit them and feel bad about it, but it´s the wards job to fellowship, reactivate and GIVE US REFERENCES.  

Right now we really want to find ways to serve the ward, but people won´t even let us wash dishes.  I´ve found that people only like you when you eat so much you want to puke, which Sister Johnson can do.  So everyone loves her.  So I guess the missionary work here boils down to just praying for an appetite haha

I really do love our ward though, we had a really great testimony meeting and the youth here are unbelievable.  All the girls want to serve missions and I just want to cry every time I see them because I love them so much.  We also have some great RM´s.  Don´t worry, I´m not going to bring home a Brasilian ;)

I did meet the President and his wife the first day and we took a picture.  They are very nice.  I had my interview last week and all he told me was be obedient and everything else follows.  They don´t speak any English, but that´s okay.  I´m understanding Portuguese a lot more, especially with people my age and people who have teeth.  People understand me when I speak unless they choose not to, which is interesting and sometimes annoying.  Like people see I have an accent and stop trying to listen.

I didn´t see the Conferencia Sociadade do Soccorro, but we will definitely see Conferencia Geral, hopefully in English.  I am SOOO pumped!!!  

This morning was really really strange.  Our zone leader called and told us the President is making an exception today and we need to go out and find anyone who´s been to church once and ask them to be baptized today so we can make our goal.  Sister Seal and I just tried not to murmur, but I´m trying SOO hard to understand this mission.  We may or may not have a baptism to go to for one of Sister Johnson´s investigators and it sounds like he doesn´t know anything and is just out of his mind.  Luckily our district leader who does the interview has the gift of discernment.  I just don´t understand it, but I´m trying to have faith.  The only thing we can do to help these people is baptize them, and they have agency about what happens after.  

I´m praying so hard to find families.  We have a couple but they won´t come to church.  The goal in the end for me is to find the future bishops, relief society presidents and above all, missionaries.  The thing that amazes me is how a lot of the people you find here have already talked to missionaries and weren´t ready then but are now.  So everytime someone falls through, they´ll be taught again in the future and be more prepared to hear the lessons and be baptized.  Planting seeds is so important.  This week we taught another older woman who told us she had a dream about us then saw us on the street.  She has already been taught and has gone to church and feels we are her second chance.  She wasn´t at church yesterday but she wants to wait and be baptized with her daughter which is fine by me.  

Well my mind is just spinning, but I´ve realized that this mission is definitely not about me.  I may not feel wonderful about everything my leaders say or about how well the investigators understand, but I´m just here to be the Lord´s servant.  The best thing I can do for my mission is be obedient.  

So I have no ideas about how to get Chacos except sending them one at a time.  It takes a really long time for packages to get here, so I think it may be time to start thinking about Natal :) haha  I´m really not concerned about it but I do need a watch.  All I really want for Christmas is the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert from last year with Alfie Boe and a CD of the MoTab doing show tunes.  The music rules here are only church hymns and primary songs by the MoTob or the church webstie, and on p-day, anything by the MoTab, anything from the church website or efy music.  Also, you should send maple flavoring so I can make syrup for pancakes, and ready to make cookies.

I love you all so much and am praying for Longmont.  I´m glad you are all being such good missionaries and serving others.  I need to do the same!  Time is flying!!  Just so you know, both Sister Johnson and Seal have said I´m the least trunky missionary they´ve ever seen.  I love my family, but my heart really is 100% in my mission.  Not to say that seeing you again won´t be the best day ever, but I only get 18 months to be a missionary. And it´s only 16 months now!!  WHAT??

Com MUITO MUITO amor,

Sister Moore 

 

September 23, 2013

Sister Moore's First Baptism!

Sister Moore is in Joao Pessoa!

Ola!!!

Sorry this computer  is awful and I don´t have time to figure out how to upload more photos but here´s my first  baptism!!  Haha I don´t really feel that responsible for it  but Cleonice is really cool and right now we are really really hoping her family will be baptized.  None of them were at the baptism which was really sad.  They all know the church is true but there´s always an excuse to not come to church.  

This lady on my first Sunday who had never met me just asked me out of nowhere if I  knew Àlma Tem Paz (Be Still My Soul) and if I would sing it.  So this week I did, as a prelude and it really helped people  be quieter at the beginning of the sacrament meeting.. the week before EVERYONE was still talking all the way through the bishop´s announcements.  I don´t know why that has been my theme song but it´s sure a great one.  It´s also not in the Portuguese hymnal so I just happened to still  have the music from the CTM.

 My clothes have been working out okay but I really wish we hadn´t bought all that stuff at target.  Everything I need I can easily buy here and transfers will be really hard with more than two heavy bags.  Just advice for anyone who´s preparing to serve.  Also... CHACOS EVERYBODY HAS CHACOS.   My shoes have been okay and comfortable which really is a blessing because Sister Willette and  Johnson have been in the house not working for almost a whole week because of Sister Willette´s blisters.   But they are definitely allowed and recommended.  I don´t know how I can get some, because shoes will get stolen if you don´t send them one at a time. and I would want them to fit.  Also my watch is going to  rip in half in few weeks  haha.. but you can always find a watch.  White is also a bad idea.  

I am still very happy and am learning SO fast.   It´s still really hard to understand people, but when that comes everything will be easier.   I have a story that I´ll save until after my mission about not understanding  what someone is saying.... it´s a good one.  Pray for my safety :)

The mission just really hasn´t gotten hard yet, a lot of people say training is the hardest so I´m really worried about whether I´ll have to train in six weeks or not.  But I've just been counting my blessings and if nothing else I am already realizing how hard  I've made my life for myself.  I know after my mission  I will be a much better student, friend, and most importantly wife and mother. I just have nothing but hope, hope in happiness that is PROMISED to me, in a happiness that is forever.  Everything in life can let you down, people let you down, you can walk miles across Joao Pessoa until your feet bleed just to be blown off again by an investigator, but the Savior will always keep his promises to us.  Life is a lot simpler  with Jesus Christ and  He makes it a lot easier.

You should try to find the video for missionaries about the atonement with President Eyring and Elder Holland.  It has been a central thought to me so far in my mission.  Elder Hollands words are always in my head when he says ´´Salvation was NEVER easy, because Salvation is NOT a cheap experience´´  It is just such a huge thing to remember for myself and investigators.  Faithfulness in the church is not easy, many times things will get harder for the investigators after baptism.  But I´m praying to find the ELECT so that they will endure and really know what the gospel means and raise their children that way. 

I love you all and am praying for you!   Be good member missionaries :)  Just open your mouth. 

Com muito amor

Sister Moore

September 16, 2013

Querida Familia,

WHAT??  My companion is from Utah and she was just telling me that Provo got hit really bad by the storm.  I´m glad everyone´s okay.  The world really is ending.  I guess there´s this talk by President Hinckley where he says that soon more Sisters are going to be going on missions, not because they can´t get married or don´t want to, but because the next generation will be raised by two returned missionaries!  You guys should try to find out what talk that was from lds.org.  It´s a pretty prophetic statement, probably because it´s from a prophet.  The Sisters in my generation are the future mothers of the stripling warriors!!  By the end of this year there will be 100,000 missionaries serving.  WOW

Anyway, it´s been an awesome week.  I really have no complaints about Brasil.  Dad, I just barely got a Vitamina.  Yours are better ;)  But oh man, THE FOOD HERE.  I don´t know what Joel was talking about, because every Almoco I´ve had here has been the best thing I´ve ever eaten.  Better than that restaurant we went to.  And they always have dessert.  Yesterday it was these little balls of crumbled cake mixed with condensed milk, frozen and dipped in chocolate.  I think you need to learn how to make that.  The members are so cool here.  We went street contacting with this awesome 16-year-old, Eliseangela (no idea how it´s spelled).  She goes with the missionaries twice a week for at least 3 hours and she is just the best little missionary.  She knows quite a lot of English and knows a lot of American songs, like she loves Taylor Swift.  She even quoted the Smelly Cat song from friends.  LOVE her.

Speaking of cats, there are SO many cats here.  And dogs.  They are all really sad looking and they all love me because I´m the only person who doesn´t kick them.  Sometimes I get really sad because I can´t hug every cat :(  People don´t neuter their pets here so they´re just everywhere but I´m amazed at how cute and not dirty they are.  I´m pretty much in heaven haha

My roommate Sister Johnson played basketball at Utah State and she says she knows Todd and Kimiko! First name Nichole. Super weird.  She´s so funny and it´s weird how old she is compared to all the new Sisters.  She´s also 6´2´´ so she calls me midge and I call her Amazona. She´s great.  My companion has a boyfriend on a mission in Korea and she started her papers in between sessions of the conference the change was announced... yeah....

The work here is a whole different game than the rest of the world.  An investigator only counts if they accept baptism on the first contact.  Every single person here will let you into their home and every single person will say they´ll come to church but no one ever does.  Those people are called ``moles`´ (moleys)  Just really flakey people.  We invited like 20 people to church and had about 7 we were felt really good about and only two came.  One of them we actually had dropped the night before because he was yelling at us and said he definitely didn´t want to get baptized.  Then he just showed up.. Everyone here loves to talk about Jesus so it´s just hard to find the ones who actually will be good members.  We´re seeing one guy Eduardo who got baptized a couple of weeks ago and is already drinking and not coming to church.  The weird thing is he´s TEACHING his friends the gospel, which worries us a lot.  It´s so cool though when you do find a really good contact.  I have yet to see a big change in anyones life but I know all of our members really are just like any other latter-day-saints and I know they are all a lot better off.  We have one really good family who could be baptized but only the Grandma came because the Mom didn´t have any church clothes.  We got to teach her eight year old daughter the restoration which was really fun.  

Being on a mission in Brasil, you really don´t have to worry about whether you´ll baptize or not, because you will.  But it is still SO much work and you have to juggle SO many people and make decisions about who to actually contact again.  Most of the time is spent walking across our area just to be blown off for the millionth time.  We had a whole day with nothing but that.  Numbers are also really important.  I want to be obedient, but I´m still trying to see how having a baptism EACH week is more important than making sure people are ready.  My companion and I are alike in that we both don´t like initially talking to people.  Finding the elect is hard.  We like talking to people who are just out in the street not doing anything, and a lot of those people are really mole.  We talk to a lot of gross old Catholic men who don´t understand what we´re talking about at all.  It´s just so weird, I don´t think in any other place in the world I would be able to just go up to people and explain why their church is wrong.  But it works here.  The majority of people, after you explain imersion, not baptizing infants, and the priesthood, will tell you they want to be baptized the same way Jesus was.  But then you never see them again.  

Brasil in general is just really interesting.  The homes are all very simple and small but usually very clean.  People have some pretty nice things, most people have flat screen tv´s, nice cars and smart phones, xbox´s, especially members.  Almoco is the big meal at noon and we don´t eat again until right before bed and it´s always just a little snack.  It´s hot here but overall I´ve been fine because it gets dark really early and there´s a breeze.  Someday I really do want to go to the beach here.   It just feels like a beach but I´ve only barely seen the ocean.  

So I´ve pretty much been nothing but blessed.  I love this work and I love feeling tired at the end of the day because I really DID something.  I really am just trying to be patient as I learn the language and start to understand all that people are saying.  I can´t believe how much I´ve learned about faith.  I love you all so much!!!!  Ate mais!

Sister Moore

September 4, 2013

Hannah's Awesome CTM District!

The Missionaries at the Temple

Queridos Pais,

Eu vou tentar meu melhor para responder a suas perguntas!!!  It really has been the best month of my life here at the CTM!  My district is all super sad to be leaving each other, but half of us are going to Joao Pessoa so that's a GIANT blessing.  I will have these friends for eternity.  Our no-English pact has been working on and off, sometimes we have a little trouble focusing but we just have so much fun together and love each other so when the Spirit is there in our district, it truly is unrestrained.  I've really learned that laughing with people is how I love them.

I'm so suprised we aren't all super fat.  We have a lot of candy, American and Brasilian.  My district is a miracle.  Everyone thought we were the beginning of people getting their VISA's but it's not true.  It's actually really really empty here lately, like no one but us lives on our floor it seems.  The CTM is a really special place to be.  I love the instructors and leaders here.  One Irma in particular, Irma Ferreira isn't even our teacher but we're her favorite Americans.  I asked her in Portuguese about the words to Disney songs and I didn't think she understood, but then the next day she brought me the lyrics to A Whole New World written all pretty on cute Disney paper.  It seriously was the best thing ever and now I'm always singing that song with the Portuguese words.

I got your package... I'm not gonna lie I was kind of laughing at it a little.  It has only rained twice and not very much.. only that one week was cold haha and the Halls!!!  At least now I can show people the American packaging and that it is in fact medicine :) I really appreciated your card and I could understand Dad's message.  The only letter I got was the one from you and from the ward.. I really wish more people would write because everyone has letters every day but me.  It doesn't really bother me that much though, writing really is the least of my worries.

Rule number one here: DON"T FEED THE INSTRUCTORS.  Elder Wood begged me for sour patch kids so I was trying to be sneaky and gave him some then Irmao Allan reaches AROUND me from behind and just grabs a giant handful without asking.  Then he told someone else and they both kept holding their hands out for more and it was just so funny but really rude.  I just cracked up every time and I couldn't say no.  Irmao Allan doesn't need sugar.

  

Our broadcasted fireside was Elder Anderson and he spoke about visiting the MACON GEORGIA mission last week!!  That was really cool.  I love our devotionals, broadcast or not.  Last night it was the Steadmans who are finishing their missions the same day we leave for the field.  They were the first people to greet us and they just feel like family.  Elder Steadman served Brasil North the exact same time as Dad was in the South!  Without Sister Steadman, I don't know what the choir will do (AHEM, Dad.)  But seriously, I talked to Elder Steadman and Brasil needs more Social Workers.  And the Sister Missionaries need mom hugs from you, Mom!  You really can't know the love and the spirit that exists in the CTM or in missionary work until you've felt it.  I'm glad you are being good missionaries back home though, i have been praying for that.  Nothing is more important than this work!!!

I don't have much more time but I need to tell you about last night.  Our district sang an amazing a capella rendition of Nearer My God To Thee (Mais Perto Quero Estar) with violin and it was SO powerful because of the love in our district and the power of music!!  After we were done, President Degn got up and said, I have a change of plan.  Instead of all the district leaders meeting with me, I want you all to meet with your districts, talk about what you've felt tonight and make goals.  It was so inspired and perfect and I will never forget our district meeting that night.  We all shared stories of why we're here and I really know we are all supposed to be here at this exact time in this exact district.  

We found out the numbers of people waiting for visas has gone over 1000 and dates back to February.  I know I was supposed to put my papers when I did, that I wasn't supposed to get residency,  that I need to go to BYU.  I even know I was supposed to have my Grandma's scriptures.  Sometimes I feel like I might ruin them, but I know there is no better use for them.  She is an angel watching me and I can see her handwriting and scriptures she's marked that are for me as I study.  I never thought much of what she wrote on the first page.  It simply says, Teach with the Spirit to impress the soul.  But that is the one thing I've had to learn here.  I am going to give other people and a whole new generation of people the abililty to have the blessings that our family has. 

My children are going to be raised in a terrible world, but I know the Lord provides a plan and the next generation of LDS youth will be raised by two parents who have served full-time missions.  The blessings that will bring are unimaginable. 

I love the gospel and I love this work and I love my Savior!  I love you!!  Serve missions!!!

Love,

Sister Moore

August 28, 2013

Ola!

 

Ontem,  nosso Instrutor Irmao Ramalho disse que nos nao podemos falar ingles para as proximas dois semanas!!! When he said that we were all just silent.  He made us sign a pact to not speak English at ANY time, and it was kind of sad because we all love each other so much but at the same it it's really going to help us learn fast and will help us focus all the time.  So far I've been doing pretty good but it's really sad for the people who are struggling with the language.  We ate a lot of chocolate so we wouldn't be as sad.  One sister hasn't even been trying at all which is super weird.  She just refuses to speak and it's really sad.. she keeps saying she'll learn in the feild but everyone's worried about her attitude.  The spirit will posses you then!!  Haha that's what I've been feeling about the CTM, if I don't learn to work hard here, I'll just keep coming up with excuses to be lazy.

It's been a really good week!  We have so much fun and I just love Brasil and Brasilheros!!  That's so exciting that Wyatt's coming today, he's not here yet but it's always a big deal when Americans come.  The week ahead of us only had one Sister and Three Elders so they actually let her be companions WITH ELDERS.  How weird is that??  I feel bad for her.  She came from Provo and was in a trio of Sisters but when they left they put her with the Elders in her level. 

 

Today we went to the Sao Paulo temple again and we met our Instructor Irmao Allan's cute pregnant wife.  They are the cutest people I have ever met.  I never knew Brasilians could be ginger... it's a really diverse place.  I couldn't understand much of what she was saying but Irmao Allan kept telling us to ask her questions and it was realy funny.  Haha we have been looking forward to meeting her since got here.. 

This week we got to walk 30 minutes away from the CTM and hand out Books of Mormon.  I seriously am so lucky to be serving here.  It was the scariest thing ever but after the first person you realize that these people really love that you want to talk to them and that you have a free book for them.  All you have to say is "de graca!!" and they take it.  But it really is cool to be able to bear my testimony to strangers in Portuguese and they understand me.  A couple of the peopel just lit up when we spoke with them. 

I forgot to tell you we now get broadcasts from Provo for the first time ever.  The first one was 2 weeks ago with Richard G Scott and there's another one tonight.  Usually we just watch old devotionals.  No apostles have been here, it's kind of a rarity if you're not in Provo.  There are a lot more MTC's than I thought!! 

So I got a solo!!  haha I think I was the only one who auditioned but I'm going to sing "Be Still My Soul" in Portuguese this Sunday for our Sunday devotional!

The Longmont missionaries are so spoiled!!! I wish I got to live in a house like ours. I showed my teacher a picture of the pets and just from seeing our door he was all "you must be rich!!"  Remember how blessed you are!  After meeting all these Senior couples serving here in the CTM I can definitely see you guys doing that.  They're all people who served in Brasil in the 1960's and Dad would probably find someone he knows!  I haven't met anyone as old as Dad though ;)  Te amo muito meu querido Papai!

 I love you guys so much and I encourage you to get active in missionary work whenever you can!!!  I love being a missionary and I know the Savior's love is helping me every day.  I love the Savior and I love His gospel!!

 

Com muito amor,

Sister Moore