I think that Mom is a little excited this year for
Christmas! But holy cow, I am too! I am way stoked to talk to you
guys, especially to see your faces! Oh my lanta, it will be the best.
Especially since EVERYONE has been telling me how Coop is huge....yeah,
that´ll be great! First things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! I am
so lucky to have the best dad in the world, not even kidding. I hope that
you have a great day tomorrow and that you get a new bike and a baptism.
Because those are some of the best things in the world. Ahh it is
way weird to know that Christmas is going on as usual back at home! But
you know what, the members are taking such good care of us down here.
Really, I am in the best area in the world. Candelária really has
become my family here in Brazil and I love them!!! Mom, here is the info for Skype. Please delete it
out of my email for privacy stuff, ok? ….. deleted
content…. [Seeeee…. I’m deleting
it. Now you’re probably all curious about what she says!] I am SO
FREAKING STOKED TO TALK TO YOU GUYS!
Ok, so this week....I don´t even know where to start.
The Lord has been incredibly good to us. Sister Patino and I tried
an experiment where we are completely obedient. Like, down to the letter.
Every night, we are in bed by 10:30, which has been super hard to do, but
we are doing it! And the blessings are coming like nobody´s business!
But I am getting ahead of myself....I have a million stories to
tell this week!
So last week for Pday, Sister Pat and I did a watercolor painting
that turned out pretty dang cool! I´ll send a pic of it. But yeah,
look at Shel gettin artsy! Who knew, right? The creativity only
continues. One of our investigators, Olanda, had a super snazzy graduation
party this week, so she let me do her hair! Oh how I have missed that!
It turned out super pretty because she has hair that is wayyyy long and
pretty, and I was just happy as a clam to help out! Don´t worry, we
turned it into a lesson because we watched "Mundo Feliz" while
we were there:) I forgot my camera though...dangit!
 |
| Shelby and Sister Patino gettin artsy! |
We were out contacting later in the day and found these guys
that are SO COOL! Ok, they weren´t super into the message, but they work
for this foundation called Shores of Grace and they were from the US! So
we talked in English, which was fun and hard, and then they told me about the
foundation. Basically they rescue kids from the streets and the girls
that get into prostitution. They find homes for them and families and
everything, and teach them how to have self respect and that there is more to
life than what has happened in the past. It is so awesome, and I would
absolutely LOVE to get involved with a foundation like that when I come home.
It´s really necessary here too. There are so many kids without
families...they really make a difference! Super, super cool:)
Ok, here is the funny story for the week. So Sis Pat
and I went over to this family´s apartment this week to invite them to
come to a lesson with us. They live on the sixth floor, so we get in the elevator
to go on up there. As soon as the doors shut, Sis Pat proceeds to tell me
about this movie she watched where 8 people get stuck on an elevator and then
they start dying one by one. Cool story, Pat. But then we realize
that the elevator isn´t moving. Uh-oh. So I start almost
hyperventilating because it is HOT and tiny and no one knows we are there!
We start pounding the alarm...nada. 15 minutes later, some guy
finally heard us yelling and saved our lives. Que horror! But Sis
Pat got a kick out of it. Yay for her.
This week, we have been obedient, right? So here are
the blessings. The members have been handing out referrals like it is
Halloween and we are the trick-or-treaters. When we contact them, they
are PERFECT! For example, we met this one guy named Dedo that is a
friend of Messias. He started talking to us and saying phrases that
missionaries love to hear, such as, "Sure, there has to be a Spirit world.
Where else would everyone wait until the Resurrection?"
"Yes, I believe that the Church needs a prophet. After the
Apostasy though, I don´t know where he is!" "You know, I had
the feeling today that I need to get married. So I called my mom and had
her send over my birth certificate. After I get married, can I get
baptized?" Do you know how much I love being a missionary in Brazil?
A wholeeee lot! We found another woman who is awesome too!
Her name is Deise, and her phrases were a little different, but I smiled
just as big when I heard them. Here is what she said to us: "You
know, I had the feeling that I need to get baptized again. Weird, right?
I was baptized when I was twelve, but I just had that the feeling that it
didn´t mean anything. I don´t think it was the baptism that was wrong, I just
think it was the wrong church! How can I know which is right?"
Oh my goodness. The Lord is sending us Christmas presents.
And really, every day that we are obedient, things like this happen.
I almost don´t believe it!
Last night, we went to the Cantata de Natal, or the Stake
Primary Christmas Program. They did an AWESOME job. All of the
little kids were adorable and sang really well! At the end, they did this
super cool slideshow and tied everything in with The Living Christ and the
Restoration. I was super impressed, and really happy because we had a lot
of recent-converts there. It has really got me thinking about the message
of Christmas and the Living Christ too. I know that Jesus Christ lives
and that He is our Savior, and that He will come again! His true Church
is here on the earth today, and we are privileged to be part of it. As
part of that church, we have the responsibility to open our mouths and talk
about it with other people. I am amazed by the desire that our recent
converts have to share the gospel, especially Messias and Georges, but I really
shouldn´t be. We all should have the same excitement!
Merry Christmas, gente! I love you all and can´t wait
to see you on Wednesday!
Love,
Sister Dana
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