Feb 25, 2013- "Fancy Nancy"

Bom Dia!

This letter will be pretty quick because after this we are going to the temple! But  this week was really great! We saw a lot of the fruits of the work we have been doing for the last couple weeks and we had lots of miracles too.

But first, quick fancy nancy story.. As a little reminder, Nancy is the member who told another American sister that her teeth were becoming very yellow and requested some hydrogen peroxide for her own teeth a few weeks ago. Well... we spent some more time with her this week and she definitely did not disappoint in the comic relief area. She came with us one night to teach a few lessons and as we were leaving her chique apartament she had one request... that we go anywhere EXCEPT the favelas. So you best believe where we took her... the favelas. And it was hilarious. At one point she even started screaming and ran away from a dog. Also, over the course of the night she told my companion that her shoes were absolutely hideous and that no one would consider joining the church if they even thought they had to wear shoes like that. Thank the heavens I am on her good side now because she can be one blunt woman. But seeing her in the ghetto was absolutely priceless and I was honored to witness her first experience there.

We also had a multi zone conference this week and President and his wife spoke. They are great. President talked about when the resurrected Christ returned to minister to the people and he showed them the marks signifying that he had completed his mission with honor. President asked us to think about the marks that we are obtaining from our mission. He joked about the dog bites, but ironically the devil dog at our house attacked me this week and the doors of a bus closed on me so I may have a few literal wounds by the end of this 18 month stretch. But further, he asked us to think about the experiences we are having and the things we are learning here that will bless our lives forever. We do a lot of work here and we have lots of opportunities to learn and grow. Christ used his marks to teach and testify and I am excited to be able to do the same!

Also, we had lots of success this week with our investigators! One family that we having been teaching for quite some time got married on Saturday and if all goes as planned they will be getting baptized this Saturday! We even made a cake (my fave.. cinnamon roll cake) for the wedding and it was a fun day for them! They are humble wonderful people and I am excited for them.

Then, we were at church with another investigator Douglas when he expressed that he too wanted to be baptized this Saturday! He is 21 and really smart, pensive and now he is planning to serve a mission in a year. So cool!

And a few weeks back we were walking on the street and in the course of 10 minutes we met 3 members of the same family! So we naturally planned a time to come back and teach them and they too want to be baptized. After we got done teaching about the restoration the we asked if they thought that God could call a prophet again on the earth and the oldest daughter Michelle (24ish) said yes because as we were teaching she felt a warm fuzzy feeling throughout her whole body. I am so grateful that the Holy Ghost never lets us down. Every time someone comes ponders and prays with a sincere heart and real intent they do get a response! But they are so wonderful too. Last week I mentioned Valentines Day and as we were leaving they gave me this darling handmade heart garland to remember my first Valentines Day away from home! And this week after our lesson they had dinner ready for us. Thoughtful girls!

And we are teaching a man named Johnson from Africa. He does not speak any portuguese which means I get to teach in ENGLISH!! What luck!

Here are just a few of the many people that are willing to hear our message right now. I am amazed and humbled every day at the respect and love people have for Jesus Christ and us as his representatives here. It is quite inspiring. Love you guys. I may have a little more time to write after the temple to respond to individual mail but I am so glad that grandpas party was a success! I am so grateful for our wonderful family and the knowledge and blessins we have that we so often take for granted.

Love you and miss you all oh so frequently!

Sister Lauren

WEEK #10 - Zone Conference!

Good news; we have reached DOUBLE DIGETS!!!
we are week number 1-0~~~ yes 10 weeks!!!!

Bad news; NO EMAIL TODAY!!
I looked on the mission Facebook page today and saw they had Zone Conference!

Week #9- Happy Valentines Day!

Hello all!! 

This week has been really good! I give most of the credit to it being Valentines day. For a few weeks now I have brainstormed how I could celebrate dia de amor here in Brazil. I loved Christmas in the CTM so much so I have decided to find ways to make all the holidays here special and memorable for my companion and roomates, members and investigators. In the CTM Sister Bednar told us that we serve two missions here: one to the people in the country we are assigned to labor, and the other to the missionaries we are assigned to labor with and I decided that Valentines day was the perfect way to show my amor!

 So I cut out lots of foam hearts and found uplifting quotes and scriptures about service, compassion and hard work. I gave them out in our lessons and explained that in America we use Valentines day as a chance to express our love to friends and family. I went on to say that this year they were my friends, and family and thanked them for their love and friendship towards me. Everyone loved it! I wrote notes and got little gifts for the girls in my house and made french toast and fruit for breakfast. It was great!! AND I got an incredible pink package from home with lots of chocolate so I am a very happy girl. 

In my search for quotes I found one that I love very much. There is no denying that Albert Einstein was incredibly influential and we still use his knowledge and philosophies centuries after his death. There are probably many reasons for his success but this quote of his is definitely is one of them. 

---Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.---

I really feel like Im bringing hope and joy to a lot of people here and I am very happy! I am finding that a mission is a unique opportunity to serve and be served by so many. I am constantly amazed at how many people are supporting me here. I feel the strength of prayers and love recieving letters and packages. Members are so kind and loving and since most are either first or second generation members, they know first hand what a change the gospel can have on lives and they want so much to help us. They make us great lunches, give us references and teach with us lots. The ward here is very special. 

In other news, while my companion is one tough cookie, we really are becoming such good friends. I am amazed at her knowledge of the gospel as well as her spiritual and physical strenth. ANDD she is hilarious. We spend so much time laughing. Here are some facts about sister Valente so you can see why I enjoy here so much:

1. She sings... all the time. She sings lots of music but especially rock and she wants to marry Bon Jovi. And Im not kidding one bit. 

2. This is closely related to the first. While she sings often, it is not exactly very good... In fact, she sounds identical to the Brazilian version of Alfalfa from little Rascals. Every morning we sing a hynm in Portuguese to start our companionship study. She always sings a portion so that I can figure out what song I will be learning and for the first few weeks here I was surprised by how many new songs existed in the Portuguese hymnal. I have since figured out that I have known these songs for years but she puts a whole new spin on them... different tune and all. 

3. She loves to learn English so we spend time teaching each other every day. She has yet to grasp the difference between the pronunciation of the words world, word, ward, would but we are working it every day. 

She loves learning funny words and phrases and a few of her favorites include moron, spread eagle, and third wheel.

4. Her dad died when she was 10 and she spent a lot of her growing up years alone because her mom had to travel a lot to support her family. 

5. She loves adventures as much as I do and we are on a mission to find all the cool things to do for P days. Last week we went to a sweet street called Paulista. It looked exactly like NYC. And this week we are going to some place called 25 de Março. For the longest time I thought she was planning a special activity for next month. I had no idea it was the name of a street. my bad. 

There are others, I am sure but adventure awaits. I am happy. The work is good. We have lots of investigators and most are progressing. Some at snail pace, others a little more rapidly. thank the heavens. (habits like smoking and drinking are very hard to break, i am finding) and I am learning so much! Yesterday I got the surpirse task of speaking in church and I wasnt quite so terrified as two weeks ago. I had more to say and I think I made less gramatical errors. I love being able to testify of the things I always knew and the things and I am learning.  I love feeling the love God has for each of his children. 

Love you all! 

Ate mais! 

Sister Lauren

p.s.

Thanks for emailing! I am so glad you and mom had a great time! I want to tell you and mom thank you for being such great parents. I had two experiences in particular this week that were very humbling for me and reminded me how blessed I am. First, we were teaching two young kids that seemed really excited about our visits and were keeping their commitments which is a miracle itself. But their parents forbid us from coming back.

Then we were walking down the street and saw a lost little boy, maybe two years old. Just then his dad found him and instead of being happy, he was very angry and whiped him with a belt right in front of us. 

I am increasingly greatful for our wonderful family. thank you for raising us with love and respect. I am finding out how rare a family like ours is. 

 I will send pictures of my valentines party next week because of all the rotten luck my computer today doesnt have a plug for my camera. But I havent gotten the packages yet but we get mail every tuesday so I will look then. Transfers are every 6 weeks but for the 12 weeks we are guaranteed the same trainer.

WEEK #8- "Weekly goal of 140 contacts"

Hi family!! 

I hope you are doing well. I am very jealous of the Hawaii trip not exactly because of the weather because it is scorching here but more for the beauty and the ability you have to get in the water. We basically just soak in our sweat by the end of every day. They say it is the hottest summer Sao Paulo has seen in a long time. 

This week has been really good. I am learning a lot and contributing more in lessons. Also, this week I did the majority of the talking for our 140 contacts for practice. The hardest part for me right now is loosing the American accent. I try to sound like a native but my attempts are pretty fruitless. But people like to practice English with me and a lot of people think it is so chique that I am from America. So I guess my gringo talk has some benefits. 

One highlight of this week: I saw a teenage girl wearing an American flag shirt so I complimented it and told her that I am from Estados Unidos. Within maybe 20 seconds there were about 10 little girls crowded around. They giggled and lauged when I spoke both English and Portuguese. We used it as a teaching opportunity and taught all ten of them about the Plan of Salvation. Then we got a picture and they all wanted my autograph! One girl ran into her house and got a notebook and they all frantically ripped off corners of the page for me to sign. So dont be surprised if 10-15 Brasilero kids add me on facebook. We are teaching them all again next week! Oh and they asked if I have a brother so obviously I whipped out my photo book. I get more use from it than I even thought I could and I showed them the picture of John and me at the airport. They were thrilled. So... dear brother... your welcome. Your have your choice of about 10 girls between the ages of 3 and 15. I will send pictures. 

Oh and another highlight, as we were teaching another boy, about 16, came out and said that he was baptized a while back by Americanos but he fell away. He still has a testimony though so we are introducing him to a sharp kid in the ward that just came home from his mission and he and a friend are going to start going to seminary. 

We have lunch with the members every day and I love getting to know them! Their faith and kindness is truly inspiring. But one funny story: so we were at lunch with a very fancy woman named Nancy. She told me how she loves American sisters for lots of reasons but most of all, our teeth. She asked how I keep them white and I told her hydrogen poroxide but that I didnt bring it with me. She said, you better have your mom send some or your teeth will look like that and she pointed to the other American sister that lives in our house. Yikes. Brasileros are so kind but painfully honest. 

I am learning so much from the Book of Mormon every day! This week I read about Ammon. He is one good missionary. I taught our new little member Danilo about the importance of the Priesthood and used the story when Ammon cut off the arms. He thought it was funny. Our CTM president made us the promise that if we studied 30 minutes from the Book Of Mormon every day we could use the things we read that day, or the next day in our lessons and experiences. I have seen that to be true and I think the same can apply to you at home! There are so many lessons and so many stories!!

We have spend a lot of time with my president and his wife this week. She ADORES the necklace and they are so great. They truly care about us so much. 

And I played the piano yesterday for this huge institute meeting and I was so so scared. 

Love you all. Happy Valentines day! I am planning a party for my roommates but lets be honest, it will in no way compare to the red dinner we have every year at home. Oh and I have a package waiting at our district meeting tomorrow. Cant wait!

Love, Sister Lauren

Just a fun park we found today!

WEEK #7 "Danillo Receives the Priesthood"

Hello everyone!

It has felt like a very long time since I emailed!! But I am in my first area and I officially feel like a real missionary! I am serving now in a place called Campo Limpo Bay (but dont let the name fool you. It is far from clean and we definitely don~t have a bay.) The work is pretty difficult but at the end of each day I come home happy so I guess Im doing well!

My companion is from a tiny town (it puts Orderville to shame with 25 people TOTAL) in the Amazon. She is one tough cookie. I tell you, she works harder than anyone I have ever seen and she is teaching me lots. For example, last night we were in family home evening with the president when she realized that we only had 135 contacts for the week and our goal is 140. So then and there we got up and found 5 more people to talk to so we could check report positively to the President. She is a convert of only a few years basically is the only member of her family. Since her family doesnt have internet anyway she views things like emailing and writing letters as a total waste of time. She says her mom can hear from her once a year, Christmas. But she is smart and confident and I am learning a lot from her.

As our weekly goal for contacting alone could suggest, we talk to so so many people here. And I am surprised at how humble everyone is here. At the moment we have between 6-8 baptisms scheduled for the next 3 weeks. People are very receptive and ultimately just want to do the things that will make Christ happy. It is inspiring really. A few days ago we were teaching one woman who is so kind. However, one little problem is she can not even read so we are trying to help her read and understand the Book of Mormon which is quite the task. But she was so excited to show us the new dress she bought/acquired for church. She wanted to make sure we thought Jesus would be happy with her if she wore it in his house.

We also have a recent convert named Eliene. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite people here. She is a 23 year old marketing student with a little baby girl. She beat the odds and kept attending school every day while pregnant and now she is almost done. She lives in the favelas (most of our area is extremely poor) but I can just see how her education and new found dedication to the gospel can make all the difference for her life. Missionaries found her only about 5 weeks ago but she is already is baptized and has a calling! As of yesterday she is the new primary secretary and she is so so excited! She just readiates confidence and joy and we visit her a lot and every time she excitedly points out something new she learned from the Liahona or from the scriptures. We had a really special experience with her a few days ago when we showed her the temple and spent some time in the waiting room with her. I found a new love and appreciation for the temple as we showed her around the gardens and taught her about the significance of that special place. I realized that for most of the people I am teaching now, they will never see a building as beautiful and clean as the temple. I definitely took for granted how special of a place it is.

Another cool new convert, Danillo, is 12 and he reminds me so much of John. I especially love talking to kids here because they think it is so cool that I speak English and they are happy to teach me Portuguese. But this boy is extra special. He is the only one that got baptized in his family but he comes every week in shorts and a T shirt. On sunday he recieved the Priesthood and passed the Sacrament. He has started bringing his friends to church as well. I admire so much that someone as young as him comes to church, reads the book of mormon and everything all on his own.

But this is definitely a lot different than the CTM. At times the CTM felt a lot like an extended EFY. We worked hard in class but there were tons of people to meet and talk with at meals. A lot of elders acted a lot like 14 year old boys. Here is an example... One night I saw a huge pile of sheets, pillows and blankets falling from the sky. I thought it was kind of weird but went to bed. The next day I found out the story. So apparently five or six Brasileros joined together and tied up this little Puruvian kid, using their own sheets and blankets. They dragged him around the hallway for a long time and when my American friends finally untied him he took the pile of sheets and things and chucked it out the window. So they had to sleep on gross mattresses. haha serves them right I guess.

Another funny story, so my companion and I spent a lot of time with the Brasileros to practice Portuguese. I had a situp competition with this one kid and the next day I he handed me this letter. I opened it and to my surprise it said --- know that you are never alone because my thoughts will always be with you. And when you feel the breeze in your hair, please think of me.You are beutiful and smart. Lets focus on our missions now and after I would like to see you again. I felt like I was reading a Nicolas Sparks book. And I mean, I knew him a week total and the most we talked was while we were doing endless situps. It was pretty strange but flattering I guess.

But needless to say, we dont have lots of silly pranks or cheesy love notes here. It is a lot of work in very hot weater. We are constantly sweating and our living condition is far from pleasant. But I love the people and I already can tell that I have so many lessons to learn. Thank you for the letters and the support. I am sorry if I cant respond to everyone. I will try but know I am always thinking of you guys and love you very much!

Until next week

Tchau!
Sister Lauren

We send Danillo some new cloths for him to pass the sacrament in and they fit perfectly!

This is my area. We walk up and down this hill every day!! crazy work out