9/3/19 - The Prophet, BYU and more trainings

E aí queridos tudo bem? 

I'm down to the last 2 weeks and I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around that. 

So remember how Thauany lives in a Jewish synagogue? So she got all her wisdom teeth taken out this week so instead of meeting with her at the chapel like normal we had to go to the synagogue. Jews don't believe in Christ and Thauany warned us that these people are very strict and to be careful as we entered. Thauany was showing us around and it was the coolest thing. Imagine Fiddler on the Roof crossed with Phantom of the Opera. So. Cool. One of the old men she introduced us to looked at us suspiciously and said, "Are you guys Mormons?" We froze... "Eh, that's what some people call us", our usual answer when someone doesn't use the correct name of the church. They were cold but willing to talk and we actually had a very interesting conversation. They showed us all their fancy scrolls and they were speaking a mixture of Português and Hebrew as they explained everything. It reminded me of a church post I saw a few days ago that said, "A Catholic, a Jew, a Mormon and a Muslim were at a park. They began to talk and actually ended up good friends. This is not a joke but what actually happens when we live in a tolerant world." 

That night we took Tiago to the temple visitor's center. As we listened to the audio in front of the Christ statue he said he saw a movie flash in his mind of his motorcycle accident and how God saved him. He was touched and the spirit was very strong. It's been more than 15 years since his first contact with the church and he knows that all this time the Lord has been trying to guide him to this path. 

On Friday we had the blessing of watching a broadcast from President Nelson to all the missionaries in Brazil. He was in Brasília. He, Elder Cook, the area president, and their wives all spoke to us. Side note: I love how now the brethren's wives are speaking righy along side them. I love those ladies. The main lesson I learned from that broadcast is that I am beyond blessed to be serving a mission. I think of my friends who had the desire to serve but could't because of medical complications or things of that sort. Missions are not easy, but I can say that I have had some of the best days of my life while being in the mission field. I am incredibly grateful for that. Elder Cook commented, "What a special thing it is to serve a mission." President Nelson said that when we share the gospel he hopes we have a smile on our face. If we're not smiling who will want to be like us? Our message is one of joy! He said, "Even on a bad day we can find joy in Him." He also said, "I can't think of anything better than for a young man or woman to serve a mission." It seems like we gain 10 years of life experience in a year and a half/two years. They talked about how for most of us being on a mission in Brazil is keeping a covenant we made with Father in Heaven in the premortal life. I testify of that. I'm sure that my time here with some of my companions and people I've baptized was preordained of God. President Nelson left us with a promise. He promised many blessing but the one that stood out to me the most is when he envoked a blessing of healing upon us. He said that we would have the health and strength to finish our mission and go home to be missionaries in our own lands. Remember how for the last few weeks I've had painful circulation problems in my legs? Well from the day the prophet made that promise I have not had any more pain. The promises the Lord makes through His servants are real. What a blessing!

After that devotional we trained the capital and that was a blast! It was an all day event filled with the spirit, fun, and of course, Andre's pizza with borda de chocolate. The assistants worked out a deal with Andre to bring his pizza to the capital too. Wild stuff.

Sunday morning we had a combined sacrament meeting with Cantareria. That was the fullest sacerment meeting I've seen since leaving Riverton. Haha. We all packed up bags of snacks and headed to the event center in Santana which is also where the famos carnival parade in São Paulo happens. The doors opened at 11am. We took an uber with our recent converts Ana Claudia and Cris and got there around noon. On our way into the building in the middle of the crowds a little girl popped up next to me and grabbed my hand. It was Olivia from my first area! We just happened to get there at the same time as the bus from Vila Angelica! I was then swarmed by the young women of the ward getting lots of tight hugs and "Que Saudades!" Ah! It was incredible! We got good seats in front of the 800 person choir. We took a walk around to see if any of our sisters needed help. Some of them from the interior had sacerment meeting at 6am to get here on time. Guess who else we ran into? The Venezuelans I helped move in in Aldeia, President Tason and Sheila, Angelica and Leticia my recent converts also from Aldeia, my CTM instructor Sister Lopes and a few other people I haven't seen in what seems like forever. On my way back to my seat a lady I've never seen before grabbed my arm and said, "I was watching you and it's easy to tell that you're very dear to these people. I can see that you served a wonderful mission. Parabéns for your work here." I was touched by her words because just a few days  earlier I was praying to know if I had really given my all during my time here in Brazil. Did I turn my will over to The Lord and do all He needed me to? This sweet irmã's words were an answer to that prayer and my heart was filled with grattitude. Seeing everyone that I have come to love here in São Paulo made me think of what our reunion will be like in the celestial kingdom. Full of indescribable joy! What a blessing that I got to see everyone before heading home. 

At 4pm the event started. Ana Claudia has been preparing so much spiritually to see the Living Prophet. All 37,000 people, one of the largest church gatherings outside of Salt Lake, stood in reverance as our dear prophet entered. The whole program was wonderful, but I especially loved President and Sister Nelson's talks. Sister Nelson talked about ways to avoid contention. President Nelson went to the stand and said that he had no prepared text, nor scripture, he had come as a humble servant of God to share with the people of Brazil what The Lord wanted them to know. He asked the primary children to stand and sing Sou Um Filho de Deus, I am a Child of God and it was the sweetest thing. In between statements he paused as if to listen to someone whispering in his ear, but it was clear to see that he was in reality listing to the inspiration of the spirit. He focused on the commandments and the specific blessings for each one. I loved what he said on education, he said that every young person deserves an education. He said, "Education is a religious responsiblity. The glory of God is intelligence. It is the difference between wanting to help others and being able to help others." 

He promised the people of Brazil that they will receive many more temples. He closed his talk bearing his special testimony of Jesus Christ in perfect Portuguese. The spirit was strong as the prophet of God bore witness of the savior in the native language of these people I have come to love with my whole heart. I could not stop smiling. As he left all 37,000 of us waved our white handkerchiefs and sang Graças Damos Ó Deus Por Um Profeta. I will never forget that special experience. I know God has called prophets in our day to guide us through these confusing times.

In the middle of July my mom and I started thinking about school and everything I would need to do when I got home. Before I left on the mission I had everything worked out. Since then I've changed a lot and was redirected in my plans, part of those new plans being to go to BYU. I thought I could come home in Setember and fill out my application without problems to start in January. What we discovered that Pday is that the application deadline for Winter Semester was August 1. I had 15 days. If you know me you know I don't like to be rushed with these things. I got President's permission to call my mom and we got to work. In 10 days we got it all together  I wrote the 8 essays and my angel mother organized everything else. A lot of work and miracle later I recieved my acceptance letter. Catch me at BYU winter 2020! 

My heart is so full grattitude for my mission, for the prophet, for the gospel and for my Savior.

Beijos,

Sister Barlow 

1-2) Presidente Nelson no Brasil

3-4) BYU!.. my family's way of celebrating with me. Kkkkk

5) So much gratitude.