18 July 2016

Oi familia! I had a great week. I love my new companion, she is really nice and fun and she is from Riberão Preto in São Paulo (the state) I also love it here in São Gabriel. It is a nice city, about the same size as Santa Rosa, only it doesn´t ahve the crazy hills that Santa Rosa had which I m loving, and it si a bit more spread out with lots of trees and horses. We live with 2 other sisters too. This week ws really cold and windy. The work here has a lot of potenital. There is a lady named Tania that wants to eb baptized, she just has to pray about a date. I also attended my first wedding this week! (picture included) It was in the chapel and felt just like the movies haha. It was one of the elders´investigators that got married and baptized this weekend. I am looking forward to this week adn the progress I hope we will have here. I love you all have a good week! :)

11 July 2016

Oi familia! I will be transfered tomorrow to São Gabriel. It is a smaller city on the opposite end of the mission, down south by the fronteir. From what I have heard, the area has a few branches and is working to become a stake. It would be different there, smaller town/area and a bit colder. I am sad to leave Santa Rosa because I love it here, but I am really excited tog et to know a new place and new people. My companion will be Sster De Olveira, who has been companions with both of my past companions too. 

We met the new mission President and his wife and they are great I love them! They have way differetn personalities than President and Sister Parrela. theya re very calm and sweet, but have a strong spirit. I was also able tosee my companion rom the CTM and another sister from our group, sister Christensen. She will come replace me here in Santa Rosa and continue working with Sister Soares Da Silva.

Unfortuantely, Sandor and Renir don´t want to continue investigating, along with many other investigators. But we are always looking for new people to teach and I hope our current investigators will be able to continue with open hearts and one day, if not now, want to accept the gospel and be baptized.

Something that I learned this week, that was also a point of one of the past conference talks, is that one way to remember the savior is by seeing Him through other people. When we recongize with gratitude the good in other people and see how they have helped us and made us feel good, we can rememebr Him.

4 July 2016

Bom dia!

Happy Fourth of July! That´s crazy that it is the fourth of july, it sure does not feel like it here, being winter and Brasil and all..... What are all of you doing to celebrte this year? fireworks, barbeques? 

This week was great and I completed 5 months yesterday! We worked hard and were able to see some improvement and success. A cool experience with fast sunday yesterday was that we have some new investigators (Sandro and Renir) that lost a family member recently and we started teaching them. They said no to baptism, but said they would visit the church. Then the day before they said they could only go until 11:00  (which is when sacrament meeting starts) because they would have visitors at their house, but we fasted that they would stay until the end of sacrament. Then the time came for sacrament and they went and sat down and stayed and listened to the whole meeting without even any sign that they had to leave and Renir even seemed to ahve cried during testimony meeting. We will see where this goes but it was cool to be able to see this miracle and I was able to better understand the importance and power of the fast. I know that fasting can be a very powerful thing and that miracles really happen.

President and Sister Louza arrived this week and we will travel to cruz alta to meet them on Thursday! I am excited, they already seem to be great. We will also find out about transfers this week and I will probably be transfered from Santa Rosa.

I hope you all are doing well, have a great week, amo vocês!! :)

27 June 2016

Oi familia! there is not much to write this week. This week I had another divison a few hours away in Cruz Alta which was good. President and sister Parrela leave tomorrow and the new president and sister Louza come July 1st. We will meet them July 7th in Cruz Alta. I am excited to meet them. The work is going and I am getting along well with my companion. A quote I saw in the apartment in Cruz Alta that I´d like to share is: 

``Of this I am sure: you do not find the happy life. you make it.´´ -- Thomas S. Monson

How is everyone doing?? Matthew, tell me about you trip andsend some pictures! I hope deep creek was good, Mom and Dad. Giid luck with all of your activites this week!

photos: a ``feast´´ i made last P-day and ``cookies´´ that i made today at the request of my companion. 

20 June 2016

Oi familia! Happy fathers day to dad and nathan! I didn´t remember last week that yesterday was fathers day because in brasil, Fathers day is in august. It is weird that mothers day is the same day, but fathers day is different. Yesterday we had stake conference in Santo Angelo which was really good. A member of the seventy spoke and it was really powerful. he spoke a lot about 1. having a broken heart and a contrite spirit and 2. The sabbath day. He made it clear that the sabbath is the DAY of the Lord, not HALF a day of the Lord. It starts at 12 saturday night and ends at 12 sunday night and we should do evrythign we can to dedicte the whole day to the Lord.

The work is going well. We are working a lot to reactivate less actives. We also have some new investigators with a lot of potential, they just have to get married! And we also have an investigator named Brenda who is 12 years old and she is great and wants to get baptized, but her mom wants to check out the church before she allows her to be baotized, which is great too. I hope the whole family will join the church. 

I hope you all are doing well and taking advantage of warm weather! love you all! Tchau

13 June 2016

Boa tarde! I hope you all are doing well! It´s crazy that matthew is so relatively close to me down here in south america, I hope he is enjoying is nice long trip and taking lots of pictures! 

It has been really cold here this week and winter has not even started yet! It got down to -6 degrees or so during the nights. Celcius... but still. I never would ahve thought Brasil could be this cold, I feel more like I am serving in Canada! Also, feliz Dia Dos Namorados (AKA valentines day). Here in brasil, valentines day was yesterday...

The work is going well, we are working hard and making good progress. It is hard now to see the fruits of our labors, but I know none ofour work goes to waste. My companion is awesome and probably ahs the most scriptural knowledge than anyone I have ever met!

A thought for this week is a scripture to look up that i love: Mosiah 2:41

 I love you all, have a great week!

30 May 2016

Bom dia familia! I am going to stay in Santa Rosa this transfer!! I am so happy and excited, I love it here! Sister Moraes is being transfered, however, to Uruguaiana, an area far away on the border of uruguay. I will miss her, she was a great companion.I don´t know if I ever said that she only has been on her mission for 2 months longer than me and she was already training. My new companion will be Sister Soares Da Silva. I believe she is from Baía and everyone who knows her says she is awesome and hilarious. 

Let me explain some of the pictures. There are a few of the city that I took from the roof of our apartment building. beautiful né? Also, missionaries are now allowed to use some types of hats and sunglasses in brasil and there is a picture of us celebrating this new liberation. As far as the new rule about pants goes, I do not know if that will apply to our mission, but I don´t think it will. I can´t imagine being a sister in long pants. There is also a picture of me and the umbrella that came free with the chocolate easter eggs we bought. They were on sale for very cheap. 

We are continuing to find new investigators and visit our old ones, but nothing extremeley notable happened this week. I am looking forward to working hard this next transfer and continue to learn and grow.