May 6, 2013

HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY!!!! This Sunday, right?  So guess what that means?  I get to talk to you!! :)  I love you mom!  

The first mission counsel was way good.  I was able to learn a lot! And it was cool to see the part that all the elder´s take a part of.  President and the assistants each gave a training. I loved the part that the president gave, I could really feel the spirit.  ha.... and with the assistants training - Sister O and I had to do a practice... well it was half voluntary, but still... :)  And yeah, we do have a part in the zone trainings - we had one this past week and we both passed part of the training :) different, but it was cool...

yeah the problem with apartments is is that someone sits down at the bottom and won´t let you in until they call the person in the apartment and they allow us to go up... and even if we can get past them, people will complain if someone comes in unannounced, so when we knock doors we usually just go to houses - but mostly we just talk to the people in the streets. 

So yeah, it is cold here.  Well - to you guys it probably wouldn´t be that cold, but since what I´m used to is 95 degree weather like everyday, it feels pretty cold to us.  And no, the blanket I have is warm enough, but some more warm clothes would be nice!

As for vitamins, I still have a little of the vitamin c that I brought and I have that other one that you sent, so I think I´m doing good :)

Well, I hope that all of you are doing well!! I would love to receive letters from you :)

doorman

April 29, 2013 /New Area

First week in my new area - Jardim América.  It´ll be part of the mission Juiz de Fora... and more likely than not, I will be a part of the new mission.  Also, I don´t know the name of the new mission president, but I´ve heard that he is from São Paulo.  And they say that the new mission house will be near here.... so that´ll be interesting.  

And like you said, Sarah - it is a really good thing that they are having sister leader trainer´s. It was something that was needed - we were talking about this a few weeks ago even before it was announced and it´ll be way good to have the information passed directly from the president.  Sister O and I will both be leader´s now together - it kind of works like zone leaders, except just with sisters.  We'll go on splits with the other sisters, help them and train them. oh and we´ll go to the mission counsels, which is new.  We´re gonna go back to rio tonight to have it tomorrow.  

I am really liking Minas so far.  It is super cold here though!!!! I never expected that and I only have two light sweaters!!!! Well at least its cold to me cause I´ve been used to ninety-five degree weather.  So yeah. Tell Michelle to bring weather for the cold and for the heat cause she´ll need it :) especially after she has a summer there and then goes through the winter...

haha. it´s kind of funny how the mission is different for everyone.  This is my fifth area now and well, compared to a lot of other sisters, that´s quite a bit :) And this´ll be the third area that Ive opened (well not opened opened, but just switched from elders to sisters, but we both got there at the same time without knowing anything!) and its seeming to be the hardest.  There are a lot of apartments - and I don´t know if you know this, but we can´t really knock doors there or visit anyone there unless we already have their name and they accept for us to go up.  Also, our area is really big.  but its good :) and I LOVE my companion.  She is hilarious!  and an absolutely fantastic missionary!

Jardim America

April 15 and April 22, 2013 Sister Leader Trainers

April 15

Well.... things are going well.  This week´ll be the last week of the transfer and its been a good one.  I love my companion and the work has been going well.  

I´m sorry I´m so bad at writing.... What kind of stories do you want to hear?  What do you want to know?  I guess to me, things just kind of seem normal cause I live it everyday but they could be different to you, but things are going really well and I am loving the work!  

April 22

I don´t know if you´ve heard yet, but the church has started this new program of sister leader trainers.  I think that it is something world-wide, but I could be mistaken.  Well.... As for transfers..... even though I just got here in Anil this past transfer, I will be transfered to.... guess where??? Juiz de Fora.  Yep.  That´s in Minas Gerais - another state in Brasil and what will be part of the new mission - so.... more likely than not, I will stay on that half of the mission since it splits in July.  and guess what else?  I´ll be one of these sister leader´s thing.  We´ll have a training on it later in the day, but from what I understand, we´ll pretty much do what a zone leader does, but for sisters.  Go on splits and help train the other sisters.  Also, we´ll be opening the area in Jardim de America. so... we´ll see how it all goes :) I´m pretty excited though.  It´s gonna be a good transfer!  My companion will be Sister  O She is Brasilian.  I´ve met her before and she seems way funny and awesome.  My current companion, Sister C will be staying here in Anil to train a new sister :) I am so excited for her! She´ll do great! This past transfer has been great with her!  She is a great sister - super motivated and with a good focus and I love her!  She is great! :)  It has passed by ridiculously fast though!

Oh.  So we had a baptism yesterday. His name is D and we´ve been working with him for a few weeks now.  I can´t believe how prepared he was by the Lord to receive the gospel.  It was amazing. He was a referral from an AWESOME member, A.  He has a great heart for missionary work!  He takes us to pretty much everyone that he knows.  He fasts and prays to have missionary opportunities and then takes advantage of them when they come!  It is awesome.  And it was through him and his faithfulness that we met D.  Definitely something that we should all do as members :)  D is eighteen years old and can serve a mission in a year! how awesome would that be?

So can I just tell you a funny story that is not very typical of being a missionary? hahaha.  Well... the other day we went to visit a family and we were calling at the front gate, but no one was answering.  Since it was open, we just went in to call closer to the house, leaving the door open behind us.  outside was a huge gate with concrete all around it and inside there were several houses on one side and a high wall on the other side made of concrete.  but the family didn´ tend up being home and the neighbor (i think on purpose), shut the gate behind us..... and well.... we were stuck.  no one else in the other houses were home either and.... so what did we do? well. scaled the fence and jumped it, of course.  yeah, it was pretty epic.  two sister missionaries climbing over a wall in skirts.  but no one else saw, which was good- and well.. we made our escape! :) haha but it was a pretty funny moment.

Carolyn here: Here's an article about Sister Leaders.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865577611/Sister-LDS-missionaries-will-have-key-role-in-new-Mission-Leadership-Council.html?pg=all


This might be different then the gate they actually climbed over but I thought it was useful to visualize her story. 

Gate

April 8, 2013 Rio de Janeiro Temple announcement!!!!!!

Can I just say that this was the absolute best conference ever?  And it probably wouldn´t be hard to guess which talk was my favorite either.... :)  

So let me just tell you about my saturday afternoon.  So we got to the church - the portuguese wasn´t working and so all of the missionaries were gathered in a small little room, knowing that if a temple were to be announced, it would be there during the first session.  President Monson came on and as he got to the announcement of temples, we all got super anxious and well he said there would be two temples announced.  The first?  Cedar City, Utah.  The second?  all we heard was Brasil and then the sound cut off!  Needless to say, we all went crazy with the suspense.  It was a funny moment and my brilliant companion caught it all on camera :)  You must also know that a temple has always been our goal.  Everything we do is centered on building a temple here in Rio - helping families hear about and receive the restored gospel.  Since I´ve gotten here its been the focus of the mission and my focus.  But wow.  It was crazy.  SO a few minutes later - which was pretty much eternity! after getting to the right spot and trying to get the sound to stop cutting out, we all heard the announcement..... That there would be a temple built in Brasil, Rio de Jan..... and that is when all the screams broke out.  It was crazy!!! WE`RE GOING TO HAVE A TEMPLE HERE IN RIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so excited!!!!!! You have no idea!!!  Definitely amazing moment, and I am SO glad that I can be a part of it all.  Part of the building of a temple here in Rio.  It´s amazing to me how the building of a temple starts long before a temple is announced.  A temple! We have been working for this moment for so long and will continue doing so until its built!  The blessings of living the gospel are amazing!

Announcement of Rio Temple

April 1, 2013/ Happy Easter

Happy Easter!! 

Well we´re doing good.  This week was pretty great.  The work is going well.  

So. One cool thing that happened was that I made a contact with a girl, invited her to learn more, she rejected and well we went about doing our work.  But then..... she walked back to me and said that she changed her mind, that she would be at home a certain day and we could come by to visit!!!  Its interesting sometimes how the spirit works with people.

I have really been able to see the hand of the Lord leading and guiding us this week. Its funny some of the experiences we´ve had, running into members that had been wanting to talk to us and then having them take us to people who needed help or to new investigators.  I have really been able to see how important and pivotal the role of members in missionary work.  We went to visit two inactive families this week with the secretary of our ward and well.... It helped them a TON.  It really helps EVERYONE - inactives, investigators, members - to see the love that members, and through these members, ultimately the Love that God has for them.   

Cristo Redentor

March 25, 2013

I´m doing good and everything is going well. Adjusting to life here in Anil. I LOVE my companion.  She is a great missionary and I love working with her.  She is super fun.  

So yeah, now we are allowed to write more people, but they don´t really give us any extra time, so that´s a little difficult.... just type fast! 

Easter will probably just be a normal day here, but I´m still excited for it and I´m WAY excited for general conference!!! It´s gonna be SO GOOD!!!! :)  

Well... I am doing good. I am loving the work and learning a TON!  So sorry not to write more, but the internet´s not really working right now and I´m scared that I won´t be able to send it in time.....

Note from Carolyn: For those interested in watching General Conference, you can watch it by visiting www.lds.org and look for a link to watch on the main page. You can watch it live on April 6 and April 7 but it will be archived there after Conference is over. You can also find it on BYU TV online or on your TV if you get that channel. Sessions are broadcast at 11 and 3 CST on Saturday and Sunday. 

Rio Apartments

March 18, 2013

I am doing so good!

That´s cool you are talking to Sister CL's mom on the site thing! Sister CL is AWESOME! I love her already.  It has been great working with her this week and I´m way excited for this transference.  I got transferred here, but she was already here before, so it´s been good cause she already knows pretty much everything about the area!  which is way awesome! The apartment is sweet because it has room downstairs that we can go running in! This is the first are that I´ve been able to do that cause we can´t run outside.  It´s way sweet.  I am way excited to work in this new area.  Every area is a new experience and from what I´ve seen, it is going to be really good working here with the ward and with the investigators.  The ones I have already met seem awesome!  and yeah, this seems to be a very nice area.

My favorite thing is how the Spirit works with people.  Sure we can feel super inadequate, but when we have the Spirit to back up what we´re saying, well... it all works out!  One day, we had just met a woman on the street and it was way funny at first cause she didn´t want to have anything to do with us - and threw us off onto her friend that was there with us saying that he needed Jesus and stuff like that.  So we started talking to him, teaching and testifying about the restoration and said a prayer with them.  Afterwards she said Thank you and that in that moment when we were praying to bless their day, that the Lord touched her heart.  I love the great role that the Spirit has in missionary work.  It´s definitely THE most important part.

haha... yeah... I found out that my directional sense is not the best.  I have a hard time remembering where people live and how to get there..... but I´ll get it down!!  yeah... and transferences are hard lugging around suitcases to catch buses and stuff....but we survived! I came over with Sister H (who is awesome! :) and well.... it was super hard getting around especially since everyone told us all of the wrong instructions!! but we made it.... safe and sound :)  I love all of the other sisters here on the mission!  

Rio Coastline