May 14, 2014

Oi família!!  Quanto tempo!!
 
I was transfered to.. drumroll...... COLINAS DO SUL STILL!  I´m still
here, but with a new companion, the new Sister Líder Treinadora here,
Sister Johnson (another Sister Johnson).  So I´ll still go to the
Leadership meetings every month and I´ll get to see Sister
Sciammarella.  That´s what I mean when I say I´m basically a zone
leader haha.. I participate in the planning our zone meetings.  A ton
of people in my group and older have still never trained or even been
senior, and it´s just the timing.  I came with a giant group and since
then, like 6 sisters have come.  So it´s just a mindset I need to get over. 

The Lord knows what He´s doing and I know I´m gonna love
Sister Johnson.  She´s also from Sister Seal and Sciammarella´s group
who leaves in September.  I really just met her but I´ve heard good
things about her.  I feel like we all have callings and
responsibilities given to us that aren´t included in a title.  For
example, I´m now responsible for showing her this area and helping her
with her calling since I already have done divisions and know the
Sisters here.  It was a sad goodbye and this area is a beast, so
yeah, it was hard.  But I know it´s going to be okay.  I love your
emails and it was so good to talk to you all on Sunday.
 
It´s funny how well the Lord knows us.  I can feel that He´s right
here at my side, that He knows I can do anything I´m called to do.
Just do it and do it with a smile!  Mom, I wanted the chance to thank
you a little more on Mother´s day for being my mom.  The mission is
just teaching me all the things you always taught me, but you didn´t
need a mission to figure it out.  You are the kind of super hero the
world needs a lot of right now, just good moms who raise their kids
the right way, by example.  I love you so much and everything you´ve
taught me I use every day on the mission.  I will for sure write you a
letter but I have to give it to an Elder to mail so who knows when
it´ll get sent.  But it was such a comfort to see you guys. It didn´t
make me trunky, just grateful to remember that I´m just a kid with
parents who just hope I´m alright.  I´m trying to just do the best I
can as a missionary and I know you guys are happy with me and so is
the Lord.
 
I´m not really sure what else to write about in this letter, the news
of transfers kind of whitewash your memory of the last week.  But we
are still working with José, Luzia´s son.  That whole family needs the
gospel so bad, and they need to be in it together.  Please pray for
José to be baptized Sunday and for Antonio, the dad.
 Just the whole Família Ferreira da Silva.  But if you pray for that
name, you´ll be blessing 70% of Brasil ;) Pray for this ward, and also
for the other Antonio who we baptized. His health is very very bad, so
just pray for Antonio and Joselia.
 
But everything´s all good.  I know the Savior lives and loves me.  I´m
grateful for the chance to serve Him, because that is the only way to
understand who He is.  Wonderful things await those who have faith.  I
feel we didn´t work as well as we should´ve the last couple of days,
but it´s a new start with a new companion and miracles are going to
happen here!  We´ve got some good people we´re teaching and the Lord
is on our side.  I love you all so much and hope you have an awesome
week!  Até o proximo!
 
Beijinhos,
 
Sister Moore
 

Mother's Day, May 11, 2014

We got to Skype with Hannah today!  It was so awesome.  She looked great and was so happy--happy to see us and talk to us and vice versa and happy to be on a mission!  She loves her mission and has been blessed with a lot of success and with incredibly wonderful companions.  Her Portuguese was excellent and she looks like she has adapted well to her surroundings.  She's in a very difficult place where they have to walk long distances with steep hills that wear them out.  There are a lot of bugs and the heat and humidity is intense, but even so, she is happy--inside and out!! 

We sure love this girl and are so proud of her!

May 5, 2014

Querida família!!

Maria was baptized and it was for sure one of the coolest by far.  So as I told you, we found her Saturday night of last week and she brought herself to church.  She had already been taught by Elder Kurahashi, our District Leader who now is in the chapel but a different ward.  He really had taught her well, she told us straight at the beginning the reasons she wasn´t baptized, but she knows Joseph Smith was a prophet.  She even bore testimony of that to her daughter and we never taught her anything about the restoration.  But coffee was the biggest thing for her and she just had no desire to give it up.  We had a long lesson with her Wednesday that I felt was almost angry, just because we were basically telling her that COFFEE was stopping her from entering the kingdom of God.  And this is a smart lady too, she teaches math, science, history and Portuguese to adults.  We just left frustrated because she had basically told us no.  But we came back the next day and  she said she had had a revelation that night, and a voice just told her she needs to do what those girls want.  She drank her morning coffee, but then when she almost drank it again in the afternoon, she thought of us and didn´t do it.  Which was huge. So we just did a practice of the interview to show her she was ready and after the last question she just said ´´you won´´.  God won :)  

So her baptism was really special because it was at stake conference with Sister De Paula and Elder Georgianna´s baptisms too, my favorite people from Zona Rangel who are now also in my zone again.  It was just so cool!  I think the most touching thing was that Elder Kurahashi got to baptize Maria.  He just started to cry when we told him about her.  He never baptized anyone in Colinas do Sul and we all know that was so hard for him.  It was such a special thing for them both I think.  Maria just needed girls because her husband got jealous and kicked the Elders out of their house the first time.  Maybe her husband will get baptized too someday..

Besides that it´s just been a good, tiring week.  Almost for sure me and Sister Sciamm are getting separated, and we both kind of want to leave Colinas but we´re ready for anything the Lord wants us to do.  I´ve reached the halfway mark of my mission and in the chance that I train or am senior, I´ve thought of a few things I would want my companion, or anyone going on a mission to know.  The most important things to me that I´ve learned are this:

1.  You have to learn to understand and accept the love that God has for His children.  First of all, that He loves you, always has and always will no matter what.  He is endlessly patient with you weaknesses and you should be too, and realize He exists to build you up, not tear you down.  The fact I´ve learned is you have to love yourself, not selfishly, but to know God´s love for you as his child, to be able to in turn love all of God´s children.  Let others know they can feel that love.

2.  Do all within your power to be best friends with your companion.  You will make a lot decisions between good, better and best, but always put your relationship with your companion first, because you will go through a lot of crazy stuff together.  You will laugh, cry, get really sick, and have moments when you need each others testimony.  

3.  BELIEVE IN BAPTIZING.  Don´t be a goleira.  Do all you can, beg the Lord to understand why baptizing in two weeks works and why it´s the best way.  Then do it and love every second. 

4.  Be an example wherever you are.  In your house, with the members, with other missionaries, everywhere.  You will never quite know who is watching you, but I´m certain we change many lives who we will never even know.  It´s one of the most frustrating and amazing things of being a missionary.

5.  It´s not worth it to be stressed and worried.  It´s always just a waste of time.  It´s always just a sign you don´t trust the Lord enough.  Follow the spirit.  You can´t do everything, you can´t save everyone.  But just calm the heck down.

I love being a missionary.  I had kind of a hard week really thinking about staying until January after you talked about NYC, but I prayed and feel for certain with a lot of peace in my heart and I want to finish completely. 

I love yáll.  Pray for us to baptize Roberto this week and keep praying for our ward. I´m so excited to talk to you guys on Sunday!!  I will get on Skype at 6:00, real Skype and probably use Sister Sciamm´s account.  It´ll work out.  I´ll find you guys.  Her name is Emily Sciammarella.  

´´Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him´´  1 Corinthians 2:9

com amor,

Sister Moore

April 28, 2014 (Hannah is halfway through her mission this week!)

Querida família!

 

April has gone by so fast, and it´s really been an amazing month.  We found out that this transfer is actually only going to be five weeks, and so it´s suddenly already ending!  I don´t really know anything yet about skype for mothers day but it´ll probably all be in an email that I´ll forward to you next week.  It should be actual skype, the facebook thing was kind of a last resort.  I´m looking forward to seeing you all!  About Christmas.. I thought I had already answered that question in the last email but I am feeling that I need to stay until the end.  I know the Lord will bless me and our family for staying another transfer to finish the 18 months I signed up for. 

 

It´s been a hard week, not in the way that we´re getting discouraged or sad, but in the way that we just have to laugh at all the things that just go wrong and God´s sense of humor in teaching us humility.  All of our good investigators told us they weren´t interested anymore, our ward is struggling a lot in all aspects, Valdemir´s car isn´t working still, and Cleide, the only other member who helps us suddenly moved away.  And the day ended with a cup of chá de burro, or in other words, corn water.  I hope you know I´m laughing as I write this...

 

I think the best part was Saturday night when our neighbors were playing their awful Paraiba rap, basically the same three songs, until 6:00 in the morning.  And when people play their music here, it´s loud enough to shake your house from the next street.  So needless to say we didn´t sleep or think very charitable thoughts that night, as clearly we are not representatives of Christ from 10:30pm to 6:30am...  but we still had to go walk 30 minutes away to the bottom of a hill to pick up our investigators who were all sleeping so they wouldn´t come to church.  So we get to church late, looking like we just got a bucket of water dumped on us which is really just sweat, but that´s the norm.  But here´s the lesson, I think; Christ really does love us.  If we think it´s annoying to do all that, what must it have been like for Christ when He sweat drops of blood for people who just have no idea of what He is doing for them or what He wants to offer them. 

 

We got to the church and one of our investigators we found that week was there, a woman named Maria who had been taught before by the Elders before us.  She had taken a bus by herself just because she had decided it was time to visit the church again.  She had tons of questions in Gospel Principles and we went to her house afterwards to teach her more.  She is a teacher and very smart and receptive of the spirit.  She told us she would be baptized already if it wasn´t for coffee. And cigarettes.  And the sabbath day.  And tithing.  But pray a lot for her because I think she needs to get baptized on Wednesday :) 

 

I think my most important lesson this transfer is that we are children of God.  The Lord calls us little children in D&C 50, and tells us to not be afraid countless times.  I love when the Savior immediately reached out to Peter when he walked on the water and began to fall, asking why he doubted.  We really know nothing, but we must learn to love God because He loves us SO much.  And that´s what we need to apply to our members and investigators as well.  We need to love them as little children.  They don´t understand a lot, but they will understand that we love them and are trying to help them be on the right path.  We always just need a little bit more faith and patience in the promises of the Lord. 

 

The Lord has been comforting me so much lately.  I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior so much.  They are so patient with me.  They even love our stupid neighbors who play loud music.  I´m so grateful for every day of my mission, and the Lord has been confirming to me that He is accepting my mission, as often as I´ll ask for that confirmation.  I read a really good talk I think from April 2013 by a Seventy called ´´Accepted of the Lord´´.  Feeling accepted is a basic human yearning, and if we can´t get that feeling of acceptance from our ward or even our family, people will look for other ways to find it.  We only need to find the acceptance of the Lord, who says in D&C 97:8 ´´Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice- yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command- They are accepted of me´´

 

I love you guys so much and hope you have a great week!  I hope the Elders bring my package to the meeting tomorrow, but if not for sure I´ll get it at the next leader meeting the week after.  The church is true!

 

Com amor e carinho,

 

Sister Moore

 

April 14, 2014

Família minha,

Feliz Semana Santa!!  J got baptized.  She really has been wanting this change so much. She´s 20 and has a 5 year old daughter and her life has just been full of problems from the start.  It´s a cycle her daughter would´ve started into as well.. Never really knowing better until now, she´s basically had problems with every commandment you can break, which is why it took a while with her (okay, a while if you´re in Brazil).  I love the picture we took with her mom and her daughter, just thinking how little Vivian doesn´t need to live the life her mom and grandma lived.  Luzia, the grandma (super young grandma), wants to be baptized next week too!!  This was really a cool baptism.  

I´m not really that sure what I want to talk about this week, but it´s just been a week of enduring and reflecting on what kind of missionary I am.  Something my companion has taught me is that sometimes we try so hard to be ´´Sister Moore´´ that we forget that the Lord called Hannah and needs Hannah to be here at this time and with these people.  Sometimes our defects make us not want to try because it seems the work is just so much bigger than we are. But the Lord has fit His plan of Salvation to our skill level, and so it is with the mission.  That is why it is so important to not compare your life, your mission, or anything with anyone else.  

I know the Lord loves me.  I just read the May 2013 talk by President Eyring.  This Easter week we all need to again invite the Savior to abide with us, in our homes, in our work. He talks so much about how He just wants to draw near to us. He loves us so much and is so full of mercy and understanding for our weaknesses. 

This week pray for Luzia, Janiana´s mom. Also Cristiane and her three sons who all want to be baptized, João, who probably doesn´t understand a word we say but needs the gospel too, and Elinildo, who needs to quit his sunday job with rooster fighting...  that´s five!  

I love you all so much!! The church is true!

Beijinhos,

Sister Moore

April 7, 2014

Baptism!

Watching conference and eating cake!

Happy, Irma Moore!

 

 

Querida família!!

I´m trying my hardest to send pictures so hopefully it happens but just know I´m trying every week and it never works.  I´m staying another transfer here with Sister Sciammarella!!  I am so thrilled, after this week we have every reason to be excited to stay.  There still haven´t been any more baptisms even though we always have people to be baptized each week.  Things just keep happening and it´s totally out of our control.  I know we´re doing the same work as the people who baptize every week, but I really liked what President Eyering said about patience.  He said something along these lines, if the consequences of obedience or disobedience were immediate, it wouldn´t build faith.  Conference was so great!!!  I got to see all of them including the young womens!  I definitely cried in both videos.  Those missionaries singing ´´sou um filho de deus´´ are us!!  After looking at my notes, these are the things I feel were the General Authority´s counsels for me:

-ease the burden of your leaders

-be thoughtful and Christlike to everyone

-kneel in prayer daily with a real desire to change

-patiently await blessings

-draw faith from your family

-don´t pick and choose commandments

- have an attitude of gratitude!

- help your teammates

- study the atonement during trials

- have love in your heart instead of regret

We have a really great grupo de ensino once again.  Four of our investigators came to the Saturday afternoon (night) session which was just a miracle.  One of them was a reference from Irmã Cleide, who has become one of my favorite members of all time.  It was exactly how missionary work should be. Her name is Sandra and she LOVED conference. We marked a time to come teach her with Cleide and it was a super great first lesson.  Really the spirit has just been in our lessons so strongly this week and people have been listening a lot better, especially to the first vision.  We are also teaching Cristiane and her three sons.  She recently survived a car accident and is so elect and willing to do all the things we tell her.  Right from the beginning she knew she wanted to be baptized. 

Our other awesome investigator is a reference from Valdemir.  His references are getting really good and I know the Lord is blessing him for his desire to help the missionaries.  This guy´s name is Fernando and he´s legally married and has like 7 kids.  He randomly bought a movie about Joseph Smith one time and is super excited to read the Book of Mormon.  Valdemir is my hero.

I am just feeling so good about the work here right now.  I was feeling really stressed earlier but after conference and after a blessing from my Zone Leader, Elder Walker, I feel that the Lord is happy with what we are doing.  Sister Sciammarella is my best friend in the world and we always laugh. 

Janaina is finally going to get baptized on Thursday.  It´s been a journey and she´s got quite the past, but we think she´s finally understanding repentence.  Pray for her, and for Ana Paula, who didn´t come to church, and Elinildo who would be baptized if he would leave his sketchy rooster fighting job...  and also João.  He came to church so let´s baptize that man :) haha so I think it´s six possible baptisms this week...

I love you all so much!  This transfer has some pretty great things to look forward to.. Easter, the 9-month mark and MOTHER´S DAY!  It´s gonna be so awesome.  The church is true and the Lord always knows what we need.  This transfer I want to stop focusing so much on how to be a good missionary and start to learn how to be a representative of Christ. 

Um abração,

Sister Moore

March 30, 2014

Família!!!

I can´t believe Eric is home!!!  Or on his way at least.  What an incredible week to be home for conference!  It really has been a journey, but it´s finally come to an end and now life is about to begin.  At least for me, my mission is just training on how to be a human being.  The principles of the gospel need to be actively exersized in every part of life, no matter how safe or how smart we think we are.  When the wind and tempests come to tear us down, we need to make sure we´re built upon the rock of our redeemer (Helaman 5)

This was a harder week.  We both were sick, but not at the same time so we had to stay in almost the whole week.  But the Lord really did keep blessing us and we ALMOST baptized and we ALMOST had someone at church haha...

We´re a little bit frustrated with the world right now, our investigators but even more so the members.  I read this morning in Mosiah 26 about how Alma didn´t want to deal with their members who were sinning so he took them to Mosiah like `´Hey Mosiah, these are YOUR people, what are you going to do with them?`` and Mosiah´s like ``I gave YOU responsibilty over the church, YOU have to deal with them´´  and Alma´s like ``Fine... I´ll go ask the Lord what to do´´.  I paraphrased just a little.  So we just need to try new things to get our ward to help so we´re just going to visit all of them this week and teach them how to prepare for conference.  You guys can do the same!  

First of all, we need to make sure people are reading the scriptures, praying and having family night.  The kids also need to listen to conference and they need to understand what it means that the prophet will talk to us.  Then individually everyone needs to pray and even fast to be able to receive revelation during conference for the things they need.  We can make lists of things we want answers to during conference.  Then we need to listen to our feelings and take notes.  We need to sacrifice everything else we would be doing to hear all four session.  I also want everyone to read Elder Hales´talk at the beginning of last conference in the Ensign.  

After I made this list that we´re going to challenge all of our members to do, I realized it´s just everything you´ve always taught me.  I know I always complained about reading scriptures basically my whole life, but I´m glad you never gave up.  I do remember when I was probably only 8 years old, one of you asked if I would give up all of my toys to follow to prophet, like when Lehi and his family left Jerusalem.  I realized how that still had an impact on me.  Just the very first part of the Book of Mormon.  I wasn´t sure if I could do that because my life was just the things I had, my toys and my house and my TV.  Parents need to teach their kids the gospel, and I´m so glad you did that with me.  Even though kids are so annoying and I´m not sure if I want any. 

I don´t want to be negative, but we just really need to Lord´s help to get our ward to help us. We have some big problems with retention and it starts with just the basic things the members are doing.  I won´t go off about the things they aren´t doing right, but it´s been a huge lesson to me about the things I haven´t been doing right my whole life.  It really is important to magnify your calling, support everything in the church and to fellowship others.  It is a commandment.  We have never had a problem before with investigators going to church and not really being impressed.  But it´s just a challenge that the Lord has given us and he trusts us to do our part to help change things here.  Our members are great and they want to do the right things, they just need to know how they can help.  

I know that God does everything for a reason and in His own time.  His thoughts are not our thoughts.  We didn´t baptize, but our district leader who´s ward is in the same chapel as us baptized two people and he´s been struggling so much.  We considered it just another way of God answering our prayers.  Everyone in our district baptized at least once this month and our mission getting better.  I don´t think Carnaval has anything to do it, but just the worthiness and hard work of the missionaries AND the members.  

That was a really cool statement about Zion and your mission in Boston.  We are trying to do just that here.  Thank you so much for raising me in this Gospel and doing all of the simple things to make sure I grew up with an understanding of Christ.  The church is still true and I love you all so much!  I hope I get to see Eric and Myles in the Ensign or on the screen!  Sister Johnson and some people from my last area in Prossind are also going to be there.  

Muito amor,

Sister Moore