Week 19💌 - Transfers!

 Óla galera! Tudo bem?? 

Guys, it has been such a good week!! So many miracles. 

Let's start with the big news... transfers!! After 12 weeks in Uruguai, I am being transferred! I am heading to Bela Vista, and am getting a new companion. My new companion is going to be Sister Dinesdale. She is on her last transfer. In missionary terms, she is dying. And I am going to be the one to kill her! Bela Vista is about 45 minutes from Uruguai,  so shouldn't be a major change. 

Segunda: The best day of your guys' week... brincadeira.  This pday was pretty chill. I went to the supermarket with Sister Smith in the morning. She wanted to buy some Brazilian candy and other things to bring back to the States. 

After that, she and I made tacos for lunch! Then, our LTSs showed up and we all ate together. I tried to answer as many emails as possible while my parents were ignoring me (traveling) and too busy hating me (going on vacation without me). It was a great pday, plenty of time to unwind after a stressful weekend. 

Terça: BEST DAY EVER. You guys are NEVER going to believe this... but it was COLD. I woke up shivering!! And then it just got worse after I worked out and showered. So I wore a SWEATER. Everyone in the house was wearing a sweater, Sis Smith wrapped herself in a milky blanket and we all relished in the feeling of being cold. 

It had rained all day, which meant that it was frisky! It didn't get above 85⁰. Which to all of you enjoying fall right now, that sounds pretty hot. But going from 104⁰ on Segunda to 80⁰ was a huge shock. It got up to 84⁰ around 3pm, and then back down to 80⁰ once the sun set. All morning, it was about 75⁰. So huge change for us. 

We also filmed the video de morte (death video) for Sis Smith. It was boxing themed, and absolutely priceless!! We were all cackling in between takes. 

Quarta: We met with João Henrique to prep him for his baptismal interview, it was so cool hearing how his faith has grown. We also got guaraná de Amazônia and gave out some Livros de Mórmon in the praça.  

Quinta: 4 MONTHS!! Quinta was my 4th mês-aniversario.  It's crazy how quickly time has flown. It does NOT feel like I've been gone 4 months! 

João Henrique had his baptismal interview! We also taught some kids, they are all neighbors of 2 recent converts. As soon as we start walking down the street, they all run up to us. Have you guys ever seen the movie Enchanted? If you have, do y9u remember the scene where Chip is trying to warn the Prince about the Queen and Nathaniel's evil plot and the apples? 

"Apple?" 

"No thank you!"

"It's good!"

"Well, okay!" (Cue death)

It is EXACTLY how this child tells the story of Adam and Eve. It is priceless!!

We ended the night with a farewell churrasco in Sister Smiths honor. It was us, Cidade Leste and the 4 secretaries. At the end of the night, Sister Smith bore her testimony as the message for the night. And we all thought that was it, let's go home! Nopeeee. Elder Machado (my district leader) said he had a message too. He started reading a general conference talk on how disobedience can have FATAL consequences...yeah clearly someone is not happy about last weekend. I'm not happy either, but im not about to chew out 7 other missionaries in front of members over it! The other missionaries faces were absolutely priceless though. I thought that Elder Dos Anjos (Machado's comp) eyes were going to bug out of his head.

Sexta: Sister Maciel and I got guaraná Amazônia,  and then went to Irmão Nelson's. I walked out of that house on there verge of death. He cooked dinner AND dessert. Not what you want to see after drinking a milkshake. But, he gave me a couple of little recipe books! Obrigada!!

Sabado: I spent most of the day packing. With transfers coming up, you have to start packing Saturday, because your bus could leave Sunday. Y'all,  I have a LOT of stuff. I was kinda dying. But, vai dar certo. I got everything to fit! We also met again with that group of kids. They are so cute. The girls call me Tia, which does make me feel super old. But it's funny, bc they thought I was 17. So....

Domingo: Transfer news! We got the email at 0600 telling us who is going where. Then, BATISMO! João Henrique was baptized! It was a much less stressful baptism than my first, because we weren't in the hospital on Sab. But... it did not go off without a hitch. About an hour before the baptism, we realized that we did not have baptism clothes. So we asked Cidade Leste if we could borrow theirs, they didn't have any. We called our District leader AND our Zone Leaders, and only found 1 jumpsuit. We needed 3 (we were doing a joint baptism with some elders). We were starting to feel some panic. When miracle! Our bishop told us that he had some locked in a drawer in his office. Cmon bispo!! But, we had more than enough jumpsuits. 

It was incredible watching João make this covenant with Heavenly Father. 3 weeks ago, he said that he didn't believe in the BOM, Joseph Smith, and maybe even God. But then after attending General Conference, all of that started to change. He then accepted an invitation to be baptized.  When we went through the interview questions, it was wonderful. I loved hearing that he believes in God, has no doubts about his Savior, and his ready to make this covenant.  He said that the only thing he doesn't KNOW for sure is Joseph Smith, but that he believes.  We told him that a belief is more than enough. I am so happy that he made this step to coming closer to our Father in Heaven and our Savior!

And then, at 9pm, our water got shut off. Everyone wanted to take a shower, so we tried to get in contact with the secretary of housing. Turns out the entire area had lost water.  So at 10:00, we left for the casa de apoio (Sister Support House). We got there at like 10:30, and we got to shower! AND we got to sleep in a room with AC!!! My first time sleeping in air conditioning since my first night here. Amen, hallelujah!!!

Spiritual Thought: God loves YOU. God loves you perfectly.  He wants nothing more than for you to return to live with him again. Moses 1:39 says "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." What makes God happy? You. Bringing you home.  Because of our disobedience last weekend, I was being pretty hard on myself, and I was feeling some anxiety about if I was a good missionary or not.  I had sent an email to President about the events, and I was convinced that when he read it, that he would send me home and have me excommunicated. Fun times!

However, in the middle of this spiral, I saw that it was time to start my personal study. I opened up the New Testament to where I left off, and I read John 3:16- ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That really hit me. God loves me, and He isn't going to tell President to send me home, or have me excommunicated over a little mistake. I am not going to go to hell because I went to a birthday party! 

I know that God heard me and he knew my struggles, and He gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. And He is ready and willing to do that for all of you too. His love is perfect, it is limitless,  it is individual and it is strong. Trust in that love!

Pictures!!

1. Best day of my mission!

2. Churrasco

3. Okay Elder Machado

4. 68 LDM in 11 days!

5. Batismooo

6. Pretty sunset!!

7. Best donut everrr