4/29/19 - The most productive week of my whole mission

Ok so I don't know what happened this week but we just got so much done and met SO MANY amazing people to teach! The Lord is just pouring heaps of blessings upon us here in Santana. Everyone was so nice to us. Everyone stopped to listen to my contacts. 

But as every week, we also had our challenges. We're really good at taking the wrong bus. We took the wrong bus 2xs this week and lost a bunch of time but met some cool people and got to pass them on as referencesfor other areas. We also got a great tour of the Serra of Cantareia so tudo bem. We also got caught in rain a whole lot and had fun laughing being drenched by passing busses and cars. 

We had divisions with Almedia and Gamarano this week and that was a blast. I love them. Our interviews with President Ribeiro went well. He always says exactly what I need to hear. 

So a while back my parents sent me rootbeer barrels. When Bernardo tried one in Aldeia she said it tasted like toothpaste and I was like, "girl, you're crazy!" but then Matias tried one this week and said the same thing. She procceeded to SHOW ME THE TOOTHPASTE WITH THE EXACT TASTE OF ROOTBEER. Brazil is nuts.   

Just a few thoughts I had this week that I thought I would pass on specifically for my other peeps out here in the field.

- If you want to be a better missionary, (or a better person at that), you have to do what you're helping your investigators do and put your old habits aside to become a "new creature" (Mosiah 27:24-26)

- If your investigators, (or recent converts), are struggling with a commandment or going back to old addictions 95% of the time it's becase they're not reading the Book of Mormon. That book has so much power. Once they understand how key The Book of Mormon is to helping them overcome these things, usually they're more motivated to read and pray. 

We ran into a few problems Sunday morning and arrived at Sacerment meeting 30 minutes late. When we got there we were so happy to see maria there waiting to be baptized! If you remember, we found her through a miracle. We took a few addresses from our area book to go visit. We found the street on our handy (and very old) paper map but when we got there the street simply didn't exist. We said a prayer asking for guidance knowing that we weren't sent there without a purpose. We were prompted to start clapping doors. At the end of this viela when we were about to turn back we clapped at Maria's door. We taught her The Restoration through the gate and asked to mark a return visit. She invited us in on the spot to teach her family more. She told us that same day she was praying really sincerly saying, "Father in Heaven, I'm tired of lies. I want the truth.".... then we clapped at her door. We're created a strong friendship with her and she's so elect. I know her baptism will open the hearts of the rest of her family to the gospel. Her example will make such a big difference in her home. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!

Gente I love being a missionary so much. I recieved my release date this week and I cried. I can't believe the time has gone so fast. I'm excited to make the most out of these last few months. I love my Savior and I love you all.

"Eis que minha alma se deleita nas coisas do Senhor; e meu coração medita continuamente nas coisas que vi e ouvi." - 1 Néfi 4:16  

Have a great week!

Sister Elsa (This 3 year old we had lunch with thought I was Elsa and asked me to teach her magic ice tricks ❤)

1) Batismo de Maria!

2) Cool trees we have here in the city

3) Artsy steps

4) It seemed like everyday we brought our umbrellas with us it didn't rain and all the days we left our umbrellas at home it poured and we got soaked. I have more rain pictures from other days but they're not uploading. Tudo bem. We had fun anyway. The streets literally turned into shin deep rivers.