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

August 21, 2013

Pais queridas,

 

Holy cow that's a lot of emails from just you!  I had to skim a lot because I'm pretty much out of time but it's still so great to hear everyone's doing well and about Myles' baptism!!  It seriously strengthens me so much and makes me that much more eager to go out and change lives!! 

 

We went to Campinas again today and it was finally nice outside.  Still haven't seen the new video and I REALLY want to!  I don't know if you could tell, but last Wednesday was the start of a cold, sick week for our district.  I'm just happy to see the sun and I'm happy the virus our new missionaries from Provo brought with them is almost gone from everyone.  I was in my room with a fever for one day but really it just was amazing to see how much everyone took care of me.  Everyone was making sure I was covered with medicine, tissues, VICS everything.  Sister Degn brought blankets to our room which was really sweet.  She is so cool.  One of our Brasilian roommates Sister DeOliveira let me borrow two of her sweaters and she is just so cute and nice.  They left this week.  The other one Sister Gomes actually hid from her companion one day and decided she wants to go home which was so sad for her and she made Sister de Oliveira feel like it was her fault... that definitely isn't what most Brasilians are like though.  They are so friendly and loving.  One thing I can definitely understand especially when talking to old people are words like "pequenha" and "bebe" and "muito joven!" and "quanto anos voce tem??" yeah pretty much the usual..

 

A few funny things about Brasilians.  Our main cultural difference I've found is that Halls to us means cough drops and its candy to them.  Like its packaged as candy and has the same ingredients.  According to Irmao Ramalho the ones that are like 100 percent menthol are the best kind.  It's so funny how obsessed people are with them!  Brasilians kept asking for them when everyone was sick.  It's their candy haha.

 

Cheddar cheese does not mean the same thing here as in America.  We got Hamburgers last P Day and first of all, you can't have it with everything, its either cheese OR mayo OR bacon OR lettuce etc.. so I got cheddar cheese which is some kind of bright orange paste.  Super fun times.

 

I can't believe I haven't said anything about music!  Our district happens to be a mini MoTab choir.  Elder Wood and Sister Sperry were in All State Choir with me and I didn't know!!  It's small enough here to really have lots of chances to sing.  Sister Steadman is a music major so we have many musical numbers at our devotionals.  Sister Sperry, Sister Christoffersen (she wrote off her boyfriend) and I sang "I Come To Him" last night.  Everyone has to sing in the choir.  We always practice right before we sing.  It's kind of funny how the Hispanics can't sing.. Brasilians are always making fun of the Hispanics.  Like every time we hear people being really loud its like "It's those Hispanics again..." and it's okay to say that here haha.

 

We sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" with this added verse:

 

"Because of Thy life's mission, Lord, I too will serve.  I'll leave the comfort of my home and teach Thy word.

I'll seek Thy sheep who've gone astray and those who've never known the way.

I will make Thy work my work today"

 

I am still amazed at how much I've been learning here.  I don't know how people become converted without serving missions!!  I have learned more about my Savior and have felt closer to Him here than I have in my whole life.  He was the perfect missionary, and He knows the way.

 

 

Seus Pequena Menina Moca,

 

Sister Moore

Campinas Brazil Temple, August 14, 2013

Dear Family, 

This week the temple in São Paulo was closed for cleaning, and we have had the opportunity to have the missionaries visit the beautiful Campinas temple.  It is a little further away than our temple in São Paulo.  It is a smaller temple set high on a hill, which is seen from a distance as we enter into the Campinas area.  The missionaries have really enjoyed the visit.  We thought you would like this photo.

 We have an amazing group of missionaries here in the CTM at this time.  It is such a blessing for us to be able to serve with them. Thank you for your continued support with emails and letters.  They are much appreciated. 

Sincerely,

Sister Degn

August 14, 2013

Ola!

 

Today we got to go to the Campinas Temple which is BEAUTIFUL!!  I feel like we really got to see a lot of Brasil finally, like the jungle mountains and the favelas and everything.  There is an incredible view from the back of the temple.  I wish I could take more pictures but we are only allowed to have our cameras inside the CTM on P-day. 

 

I wrote Myles a letter that he probably won't get on time but I am sooo happy for him.  He is making the best decision of his life and I know for a fact that the atonement is real and with faith in Christ we can heal all pain, worries, anxieties and fears.  The Lord blesses you with such a love for people when you are called as a missionary.  It is only a fraction of the love God has for His children.  Trust in His plan, He really knows what He is doing. 

 

Writing is so stressful because of the time limit and the line of people waiting plus I forgot my paper with everything I wrote down that I was going to include in my letter.  Guarana Zero is in fact a thing and I drink it every day in the Refeitorio.  The food lately has actually been really good.  We have new Brasilhera roommates, one of them speaks English and they are so cute.  Everyone here is learning Portugues, there are just A LOT of South American Hispanics because they can actually get their visas.  My roommate Sister De Oliveira told me they eat sheep stomachs in Joao Pessoa, but only on really special occasions :) 

 

Eu emo estando no CTM! Este messagem esta por meu Pai.  Oi!  Eu posso ensinar em Portugeus.  No sei como falar para conversacao(?) mas o meio de ensinar aqui e marvilhosa.  Eu entendi muitas frases de evangelho.  Portugues e o melhor idioma no MUNDO!!  Eu amo voce, ei estarei sempre sua pequina menina!  

 

I feel the friends I've made here will be with me my whole life.  That first Elder we met, Elder Wood, totally gets me and we both watched sharknado as our last movie and we play the same video games.  Sister Christoffersen is so cute, she went to Missouri State and was ENGAGED before her mission.  I wish i had time to tell you more about everyone in the district but I really love everyone and I feel like I have a family here.  There's even a senior missionary who loves giving "mom hugs" in my branch, so don't worry about me getting enough love here.

 

Brasil e um lugar muito bonita!  Eu sei que eu vou amor as pessoas de Joao pessoa. 

 

I love you all soooo much!

 

Ciao ciao!! 

 

Sister Moore

 

August 7, 2013

Meu quieras paies!!

The picture you got is of my district and the CTM President, President Degn and his wife.  Sister Jones (from Blanding Utah, my companion, is the native american sister, and I room with Sister Christofferson (the blonde one, she is switching from vocal performance as well! from Arkansas) and Sister Willette (from Pennsylvania, curly brown hair).  We are all going to Joao Pessoa along with Elder Sprouse, the shorter blonde Elder.  I love my district so much!!  We have so much fun and we have a really funny Brasilian instructor named Irmao Allan.  I can tell he loves us very much.  Not everything is in Portuguese.  I actually attended the temple today and it was in Spanish because we went with two Spanish districts. The video was the same but that's so crazy there's a new one.  The temple in Sao Paulo is BEAUTIFUL!! You do learn VERY fast here.  On the first full day, we had to teach an "investigator" in Portuguese.  On week 3 we actually proselyte in the streets!! 

The spirit here is amazing.  The spirit allows you to learn so much so quickly.  Each day I'm not sure if I can accomplish all that is expected but then it just happens.  We are always told the MTC's are the second most holy place on earth next to the temple.  It really feels different.  They also emphasize obedience and the fact that you only need to have one convert, YOURSELF.  We watched that amazing devotional by Elder Holland from 2010 last night and I realized that even though I'm a Sister, I am called to represent the church and live up to everything that implies 100% of the time.  God is helping us SO much every step of the way!

I can't tell you much about Brasil considering we are just in one building all the time and it's a pretty American building.  They feed us A LOT of meat and there's no choices of what to eat so you just take whatever mystery food they have.  The desserts are always some kind of pudding or mousse and the texture is ALWAYS a suprise.  It really is unbelievable that I can sit down and talk to Brasilians when I eat with them.  But what's even cooler is that the time when it's easiest to find the Portugese words I want is always when I'm teaching and can feel the spirit.  It is still REALLY hard though and some people in my district get discouraged. Spanish really helps a lot with grammar.  I'm not picking it up the fastest, but not the slowest, and they tell you a lot to NEVER compare yourself to anyone else.

Anyway, I'm loving it here!  This week went fast! 

I love you guys so much.  Is Molly dead yet? :'(  Our branch president told us by Christmas we will have a hard time speaking English on the phone.  Your prayers really must be helping me a lot because all I have felt here is love from my Savior and I haven't even come close to a breakdown.  Can't wait for your next letter!  Next week I will write a paragraph in Portugese for Dad to translate :)

COM MUITO MUITO AMOR

Sister Moore

Sao Paulo Brazil Temple