Hey guys!
How are you all doing? It´s so crazy to hear about all your summer activities. It continues pretty cold here! Really, it´s like spring for us at home, 40-50 degrees, but when none of the building have heat, it gets pretty crazy. But let´s see, what can I tell you about this week?
Hmmmm. Everything´s going well, but none of our people really progressed a lot this week. NO one, not even Luciano, went to church last week because of the rain. It really is a statewide phenomenon here. All the Brasilians from other states are weirded out by it too - they say if they were all to stay in every time it rained they would never go anywhere. So it doesn´t rain super often here, but when it does....everyone stays in. The weirdest "culture shock" thing to me is there´s a different list of "Stuff everybody knows." Here, everybody knows that if you go out in the rain you´ll come down with the flu the next day. Tons of stuff - everybody knows that it´s dangerous to drink something cold and then something hot. I don´t know what they think will happen - that your stomach will explode or something. The weirdest one is that you can´t eat watermelon and then go out in the sun. I asked what would happen and no one had an answer, just...."You just shouldn´t!" Brasilians. :)
So that was really disappointing that no one came to church. Eva and Gilberto even have a car, so they don´t really have an excuse. They´re so funny - they haven´t really felt the truth of everything yet. They keep saying things like, "We´re liking everything, but you still have to convince us that this is the best thing for us." I told them no way was that our job! Or job is to invite them to change their lives, and introduce the Spirit into their home to change their hearts. We can´t convince them of anything! So we´ll keep focusing on getting them to feel the Spirit as much as possible, because it´s Him who does the converting. We just have to help them recognize the answer they´ve already gotten. So hopefully we´ll be able to help them with that in the coming week.
Cinthia and Wagner are also going through difficulties. Not Wagner so much because he´s hardly ever present, and Cinthia is the really interested one anyway. But she had been going to the church a block over from her house, The Church of the Real Priesthood (not a religion, just a church that exists only in that one place- there are a ton here.) So she told us she had always felt something missing, and that she was starting to find what she was looking for with us. But I think the Pastora is trying to convince her we´re crazy, so she´s feeling pulled back and forth a little bit. It culminated really weirdly on Saturday when Cinthia had invited us to her son´s 4th birthday party, part of which was in the church. We went by to give him his present, and the Pastora was glaring daggers at us and whispering to people, and it was really awkward, so we left and went by her house later. Later, she was more normal (when we walked in she had looked really surprised in a bad way) and asked when we were coming that week, so that was good. It´s not our job to pull her to our side - "our Cinthia!" - but to invite her to ask God. That´s what I love so much about our work - we don´t ever ask people to believe what we´re telling them, just to ask God. We can only invite - they have to take the steps.
Luciano continues excited for the wedding and his baptism August 28, but we found out that Alba has never even intended to be baptized! She´s not even really interested. It took us this long to find out! She goes through all the motions, going to church, participating in the lessons, and everything....but when I asked her how it was when she prayed about the Book of Mormon she said she had never read nor prayed! So, crazy! We´ll have to help her gain a testimony.
That´s about all I can think of...we have two other good investigators, Roger and Giovani, who are both dating less active members. They´re both good, but we´re justing starting out with them, so we´ll see where they go. But everything´s going really well! Sister Cantuara is great, and we´re working really well together. Oh yeah, and I´m staying! Today´s transfer day, but I wasn´t even really thinking about it, as President said unless anything drastic happens I´ll be staying here forever! Until I go home! Apparently the prophet incentivized them to leave missionaries a long time in one area, so it looks like I´m here for the rest of the mission! Crazy to think about! The time´s flying so fast, I´m just trying to make the best use of it I can.
I´m more grateful every day to be here where the Lord is teaching me everything I need to know. I know all these experiences are shaping my future. I´m so glad for the opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord´s hands to bring about His great purposes here. The church is true, and I find it out over and over again every day. Thank you all so much for your love and support. I love you all and you´re always in my prayers! Have an amazing week!
Til next time,
Heather
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
New President!
Hey guys!
So first of all, I take back everything I said last week about the cold. It really is really, really cold here! I´m such a wimp about it - everyone says, "I can see your companion being cold, she´s from Bahia, but doesn´t it snow where you´re from?" But here.....it´s not really as cold as it gets at home...40 degrees is not that cold, but there´s this wind here that feels like someone throwing 40 degree water in your face. There will be these bright, sunny, beautiful days, with the palm trees and everything, but this insane wind that feels like someone left the door to Antartica open, and you just can´t warm up. So the point is.....it´s cold! :P
But the most interesting thing about this week was meeting our new president! Presidente and Sister Ribeiro got here on the 1st, but we met them on Thursday and Friday. Thursday he had interviews with everyone, and it was great to meet him like that. He´s amazing! I won´t compare him with Presidente Myrrha, but I loved getting to know him in the interview. He´s one of those people that seems like they´re looking right through you. So we talked for a good 20 minutes, it was great.
And then on Friday we had Zone Conference. It was great! He gave a bunch of the new trainings from Provo, and changed a lot of things to be more in line with Provo´s vision. For example, it´s no longer recommended to split the first lesson into 3. And we´re required to mark a date for someone´s baptism in the first lesson! So I´m really grateful for that. I feel like it will really open windows and people will really progress better - it´s what the prophets and apostles want. He also showed us some of "The District - 2" which I was nerdily excited about! The District was a movie/documentary made after the release of Preach My Gospel in 2004 to train missionaries how to use the manual, and now there´s a second one! You know you´re a missionary when you get more excited about that than the normal movie sequels you hear about. So we spent all day in trainings, doing some practices, etc. We also got to know Sister Ribeiro! I instantly loved her. She reminds me of you, Mom!
So that was the most exciting thing of the week! As far as people, NO ONE except Luciano and his son came to church - there was practically no one there because it was really cold and raining. Seriously, when we got there, we walked in with Luciano, and walked into a chapel empty except for the stake counselor. People here are so afraid of rain and cold. But it really makes me think about what kind of member I´m going to be - not that it´s a sin to stay home if there´s bad weather or something, but I want to be the kind of person who has the faith to go the extra mile.
But things are going really well with Eva and Gilberto - if all goes according to plan, their baptism will be not this saturday but next. It will be the first baptism I´ve helped with of an entire family! I´m really excited about them. They´re amazing. Cinthia and Wagner....are doing ok, we can never seem to find them both at home, but Cinthia´s still excited as ever, although they didn´t go on Sunday.
But everything´s going well here! I´m surviving the cold and having a great time!:) I´m so grateful to be here, having these experiences that are going to change the course of my eternity. I know that every one of them comes to me for a reason. I gave a talk yesterday about Ammon - I´m so grateful to have the chance, like he said, to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about His great work. Thank you all for helping me get here! I love you!!
Til next week,
Sister Madsen
So first of all, I take back everything I said last week about the cold. It really is really, really cold here! I´m such a wimp about it - everyone says, "I can see your companion being cold, she´s from Bahia, but doesn´t it snow where you´re from?" But here.....it´s not really as cold as it gets at home...40 degrees is not that cold, but there´s this wind here that feels like someone throwing 40 degree water in your face. There will be these bright, sunny, beautiful days, with the palm trees and everything, but this insane wind that feels like someone left the door to Antartica open, and you just can´t warm up. So the point is.....it´s cold! :P
But the most interesting thing about this week was meeting our new president! Presidente and Sister Ribeiro got here on the 1st, but we met them on Thursday and Friday. Thursday he had interviews with everyone, and it was great to meet him like that. He´s amazing! I won´t compare him with Presidente Myrrha, but I loved getting to know him in the interview. He´s one of those people that seems like they´re looking right through you. So we talked for a good 20 minutes, it was great.
And then on Friday we had Zone Conference. It was great! He gave a bunch of the new trainings from Provo, and changed a lot of things to be more in line with Provo´s vision. For example, it´s no longer recommended to split the first lesson into 3. And we´re required to mark a date for someone´s baptism in the first lesson! So I´m really grateful for that. I feel like it will really open windows and people will really progress better - it´s what the prophets and apostles want. He also showed us some of "The District - 2" which I was nerdily excited about! The District was a movie/documentary made after the release of Preach My Gospel in 2004 to train missionaries how to use the manual, and now there´s a second one! You know you´re a missionary when you get more excited about that than the normal movie sequels you hear about. So we spent all day in trainings, doing some practices, etc. We also got to know Sister Ribeiro! I instantly loved her. She reminds me of you, Mom!
So that was the most exciting thing of the week! As far as people, NO ONE except Luciano and his son came to church - there was practically no one there because it was really cold and raining. Seriously, when we got there, we walked in with Luciano, and walked into a chapel empty except for the stake counselor. People here are so afraid of rain and cold. But it really makes me think about what kind of member I´m going to be - not that it´s a sin to stay home if there´s bad weather or something, but I want to be the kind of person who has the faith to go the extra mile.
But things are going really well with Eva and Gilberto - if all goes according to plan, their baptism will be not this saturday but next. It will be the first baptism I´ve helped with of an entire family! I´m really excited about them. They´re amazing. Cinthia and Wagner....are doing ok, we can never seem to find them both at home, but Cinthia´s still excited as ever, although they didn´t go on Sunday.
But everything´s going well here! I´m surviving the cold and having a great time!:) I´m so grateful to be here, having these experiences that are going to change the course of my eternity. I know that every one of them comes to me for a reason. I gave a talk yesterday about Ammon - I´m so grateful to have the chance, like he said, to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about His great work. Thank you all for helping me get here! I love you!!
Til next week,
Sister Madsen
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
This Week
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s so summery there - here winter´s finally starting to arrive (maybe). I´m pretty sure it´s not going to be anything like people say it is! I believed the hype, but if these people spent the winter in Utah they would all freeze to death.
So it was another good week! The highlight was the family of Eva and Gilberto. We visited with the stake counselor who´s taking care of our ward right now (we have no bishop) and talked about the priesthood. Gilberto, who´s always kind of been lagging behind, really clicked with him. When Presidente Lupe asked what feelings they were having during the lesson, Gilberto said, "I´m believing your words." Then, best of all, when we got to church on Sunday all four of them were sitting in a pew together! Them and their two daughters, 14 and 21. They had a great time, loved everything, didn´t stay with us (a good thing) and...it was great to see them all there. I´m so excited for their family. We found out a bit ago, I don´t know if I told you, but that we started visiting them right at a time when their family was going through a huge problem. So I´m so glad we were put in their life to help them:)
The sad part of Sunday was Cinthia and Wagner - we were there at 8:40 like we said to walk with them, but they just simply didn´t answer. Their uncle who lives in...a different house but the same building (brasilian thing) answered and said he didn´t think they were there, and that he called and no answer. So that was really sad. We didn´t get there to see what happened yet, but I know they´ll be members, it´s just a matter of when!
We made a really interesting contact this week. We were knocking a street before coming home, and there was a lady standing out on her porch, so we walked up and said hi. People get really suspicious when you come up to talk to them at night, so I didn´t know how she´d respond, but she said hi so happily it surprised us and almost started laughing, that happy. So we talked for a bit, she said she was really needing God in her life and knew she should go to church, that she was going through all kinds of problems in her family, and had even lost her son two years ago...she started crying while telling us about it. Then she asked what church we were from - when we answered, she said "You´re kidding!" (actually in portuguese, "lie!") I thought she was going to say, "I heard that church was a cult" or something (lots of people do), but she said, "I´ve always wanted to go inside that church! I pass it all the time, and I told my daughter one day I didn´t want to die before I got to know that church". We told her God sent us to help her with her problems and help her fulfill her dream of knowing the church. She said we couldn´t come in right then, but she´d wait for us on Saturday. So it was amazing, but when we got to our appointment on Saturday, no one answered:( It´s always like that, there´s always a ton of opposition getting to the people who really need it, but we´ll get there!
So....the week is going well. Our ward is getting better - when we got here, it was super low in attendance and everyone was gossiping and backbiting about each other.....the bishop was doing the best he could, but it was kind of out of control. So they released him and now a stake counselor is in charge of our ward, who´s kind of snapping everything back to order. It´s been good - I was so tired of listening to people gossip! It can really kill people´s tender testimonies. But everything´s getting better.
So that´s about all the stories from this week I think. Everything´s going great! I can´t believe how fast the time is passing - I realize more every day how much I need to make every minute count. I´m so grateful to be here, getting a chance to represent the Savior and help feed His sheep. I learn more every day than I ever thought possible - looking back, it seems like I really didn´t know anything before I started. There´s kind of a theme of what I´m learning - it´s summed up by something Ann M. Dibb said in her Conference talk from October about holding to the iron rod. She said she was talking to her dad (Pres. Monson) about everything, how the blessings of the gospel are so important in our lives, and that he said, "Ann, they are everything." That´s what I´m learning more every day here. The blessings of the gospel - to be sealed to our families for all eternity, to have peace in this world and the promise of eternal life in the world to come....they´re everything. I´m so grateful to know that, and that I´m here having that knowledge reinforced every day. I love you all so much, and pray for you always!
Love always,
Heather
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s so summery there - here winter´s finally starting to arrive (maybe). I´m pretty sure it´s not going to be anything like people say it is! I believed the hype, but if these people spent the winter in Utah they would all freeze to death.
So it was another good week! The highlight was the family of Eva and Gilberto. We visited with the stake counselor who´s taking care of our ward right now (we have no bishop) and talked about the priesthood. Gilberto, who´s always kind of been lagging behind, really clicked with him. When Presidente Lupe asked what feelings they were having during the lesson, Gilberto said, "I´m believing your words." Then, best of all, when we got to church on Sunday all four of them were sitting in a pew together! Them and their two daughters, 14 and 21. They had a great time, loved everything, didn´t stay with us (a good thing) and...it was great to see them all there. I´m so excited for their family. We found out a bit ago, I don´t know if I told you, but that we started visiting them right at a time when their family was going through a huge problem. So I´m so glad we were put in their life to help them:)
The sad part of Sunday was Cinthia and Wagner - we were there at 8:40 like we said to walk with them, but they just simply didn´t answer. Their uncle who lives in...a different house but the same building (brasilian thing) answered and said he didn´t think they were there, and that he called and no answer. So that was really sad. We didn´t get there to see what happened yet, but I know they´ll be members, it´s just a matter of when!
We made a really interesting contact this week. We were knocking a street before coming home, and there was a lady standing out on her porch, so we walked up and said hi. People get really suspicious when you come up to talk to them at night, so I didn´t know how she´d respond, but she said hi so happily it surprised us and almost started laughing, that happy. So we talked for a bit, she said she was really needing God in her life and knew she should go to church, that she was going through all kinds of problems in her family, and had even lost her son two years ago...she started crying while telling us about it. Then she asked what church we were from - when we answered, she said "You´re kidding!" (actually in portuguese, "lie!") I thought she was going to say, "I heard that church was a cult" or something (lots of people do), but she said, "I´ve always wanted to go inside that church! I pass it all the time, and I told my daughter one day I didn´t want to die before I got to know that church". We told her God sent us to help her with her problems and help her fulfill her dream of knowing the church. She said we couldn´t come in right then, but she´d wait for us on Saturday. So it was amazing, but when we got to our appointment on Saturday, no one answered:( It´s always like that, there´s always a ton of opposition getting to the people who really need it, but we´ll get there!
So....the week is going well. Our ward is getting better - when we got here, it was super low in attendance and everyone was gossiping and backbiting about each other.....the bishop was doing the best he could, but it was kind of out of control. So they released him and now a stake counselor is in charge of our ward, who´s kind of snapping everything back to order. It´s been good - I was so tired of listening to people gossip! It can really kill people´s tender testimonies. But everything´s getting better.
So that´s about all the stories from this week I think. Everything´s going great! I can´t believe how fast the time is passing - I realize more every day how much I need to make every minute count. I´m so grateful to be here, getting a chance to represent the Savior and help feed His sheep. I learn more every day than I ever thought possible - looking back, it seems like I really didn´t know anything before I started. There´s kind of a theme of what I´m learning - it´s summed up by something Ann M. Dibb said in her Conference talk from October about holding to the iron rod. She said she was talking to her dad (Pres. Monson) about everything, how the blessings of the gospel are so important in our lives, and that he said, "Ann, they are everything." That´s what I´m learning more every day here. The blessings of the gospel - to be sealed to our families for all eternity, to have peace in this world and the promise of eternal life in the world to come....they´re everything. I´m so grateful to know that, and that I´m here having that knowledge reinforced every day. I love you all so much, and pray for you always!
Love always,
Heather
Friday, July 9, 2010
Third Week, First Year, and Fourth of July
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s summer there and you guys are having barbeques and watching fireworks....but actually, it´s kind of summer here too! Since July 1 it´s been hot here, like summer weather at home (not the insane, over the top summer weather of the south of Brasil). So maybe we´re kind of on the same page!
Also, you´re totally right, Brasil is very sad to be out of the Cup. We were listening to the game and heard everyone celebrate at the 10 minute mark, and I thought we were going to make it! But then no more celebration for the rest of 2 hours.....and the significant lack of fireworks and general insanity let us know we did in fact lose. Too bad! But it´s better for missionary work:D
So let´s see, what happened this week? Things are continuing amazingly. We saw Cinthia and Wagner again a few times, and they loved learning about the Book of Mormon. They were sad because they were going out of town this weekend and wouldn´t be able to come to church, but Cinthia said learning about the BoM got rid of a few doubts she had had (that we have "another Bible", etc) and made her even more excited to go to church. They´re really amazing!
More really interesting people to tell you about are Luciano and Alba. Super interesting story! They´ve already been investigating for a year and a half, going to church every week, and waiting for their wedding, which will be in August (so I´ll likely be here - yay!!) So they´re like 30 and 35-ish, have 3 kids- 13, 10 and 10 months. But their story is so interesting....Luciano had already asked a friend for a Book of Mormon 9 years before meeting the missionaries. He read up til 3 Nephi 11, decided it was a nice work of fiction, and stopped. Then 9 years later when the elders appeared, he said he already had the book, showed it to them, and he had stopped right where they were going to mark for him to start! So he started accepting their visits and reading, not just reading but studying intently, to try to catch them on something. Every Bible scripture reference he thought "Now I´ll get them..." But he kept reading and studying and realized there was nothing to "get them" on - that it really had to be true. I really like talking to them, because he was a skeptic about *everything* - and even a skeptic like him had to accept. If you read and study with a sincere heart, anyone can know the truth of the Book of Mormon.
I´m coming to appreciate it so much more on my mission. I´m finishing Helaman in my reading, and am understanding and loving it more than ever before. On the mission I have such a different perspective - I can imagine exactly how those prophets felt in lots of situations. I´m so grateful that God inspired them to write their stories so we could have their wisdom today, when the world needs it most. I really love that book and have no doubt that it really is true, and that it really came about how Joseph said it did, because there´s just no other answer.
So those were just a few quick stories about two of the families here, and there are more, but time is running out! Next week I`ll tell you more about Eva and Gilberto and how it goes with them. Another super amazing family I´m so grateful to be working with. So to summarize, (that was the first English word I´ve forgotten in a long time) things here are going amazing. We´re really receiving a ton of help and we´re lucky enough that Heavenly Father is using us as His instruments to bring about some great things with great families. I´m so grateful to be here where he can use me to help others in need. Thank you all for helping me get here, and for all your help and support. I love you all so much and you´re always in my prayers!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s summer there and you guys are having barbeques and watching fireworks....but actually, it´s kind of summer here too! Since July 1 it´s been hot here, like summer weather at home (not the insane, over the top summer weather of the south of Brasil). So maybe we´re kind of on the same page!
Also, you´re totally right, Brasil is very sad to be out of the Cup. We were listening to the game and heard everyone celebrate at the 10 minute mark, and I thought we were going to make it! But then no more celebration for the rest of 2 hours.....and the significant lack of fireworks and general insanity let us know we did in fact lose. Too bad! But it´s better for missionary work:D
So let´s see, what happened this week? Things are continuing amazingly. We saw Cinthia and Wagner again a few times, and they loved learning about the Book of Mormon. They were sad because they were going out of town this weekend and wouldn´t be able to come to church, but Cinthia said learning about the BoM got rid of a few doubts she had had (that we have "another Bible", etc) and made her even more excited to go to church. They´re really amazing!
More really interesting people to tell you about are Luciano and Alba. Super interesting story! They´ve already been investigating for a year and a half, going to church every week, and waiting for their wedding, which will be in August (so I´ll likely be here - yay!!) So they´re like 30 and 35-ish, have 3 kids- 13, 10 and 10 months. But their story is so interesting....Luciano had already asked a friend for a Book of Mormon 9 years before meeting the missionaries. He read up til 3 Nephi 11, decided it was a nice work of fiction, and stopped. Then 9 years later when the elders appeared, he said he already had the book, showed it to them, and he had stopped right where they were going to mark for him to start! So he started accepting their visits and reading, not just reading but studying intently, to try to catch them on something. Every Bible scripture reference he thought "Now I´ll get them..." But he kept reading and studying and realized there was nothing to "get them" on - that it really had to be true. I really like talking to them, because he was a skeptic about *everything* - and even a skeptic like him had to accept. If you read and study with a sincere heart, anyone can know the truth of the Book of Mormon.
I´m coming to appreciate it so much more on my mission. I´m finishing Helaman in my reading, and am understanding and loving it more than ever before. On the mission I have such a different perspective - I can imagine exactly how those prophets felt in lots of situations. I´m so grateful that God inspired them to write their stories so we could have their wisdom today, when the world needs it most. I really love that book and have no doubt that it really is true, and that it really came about how Joseph said it did, because there´s just no other answer.
So those were just a few quick stories about two of the families here, and there are more, but time is running out! Next week I`ll tell you more about Eva and Gilberto and how it goes with them. Another super amazing family I´m so grateful to be working with. So to summarize, (that was the first English word I´ve forgotten in a long time) things here are going amazing. We´re really receiving a ton of help and we´re lucky enough that Heavenly Father is using us as His instruments to bring about some great things with great families. I´m so grateful to be here where he can use me to help others in need. Thank you all for helping me get here, and for all your help and support. I love you all so much and you´re always in my prayers!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
Monday, July 5, 2010
Second Week!
Hey everyone!!
So the second week here in Uruguaiana was great! It was actually a completely normal and actually a good week in terms of how much we were able to teach, the new investigators we were able to find, and everything. We´re totally, totally being blessed, because I was expecting to have a rough first few weeks opening the area! But it´s going amazing! Let´s see everything that happened.
We focused on getting a lot of new investigators this week, since there wasn´t a big teaching pool when we got here, and were able to find some amazing people! We found this couple who´s right out of those stories you always hear. Cinthia and Wagner are a young couple (she´s my age) with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We taught the first lesson to her and her grandma, and they loved it and were really receptive, but it didn´t seem unusual. (The first lesson for us is different than anywhere else, for those of you who have served missions. Presidente Myrrha broke up the first lesson into 3 parts: "The Ministry" is the first one we teach, followed by The Restoration, and third, The Book of Mormon. So the first lesson explains the mortal ministry of Christ, baptism, the church he established, and the atonement, with a challenge to accept Christ´´s sacrifice by being baptized. Then we leave the question of "hmm, why don´t any of the churches you know today have the same organization as that one Christ established?" with them)
So we set up a return appointment and went back. Cinthia had been cleaning the house and he said she had been all excited for us to get there. So we sat down, and the first thing she said was, "Hey, I wanted to tell you guys something. I was baptized in the Universal church like I told you but.....when I was baptized I didn´t feel anything. There was something missing." She said she and Wagner had already been to a million churches but hadn´t found one to stick with yet. So we told her in our message she would feel what she had been missing. They loved the restoration and agreed to go to church next week! I´m so excited about them - they remind me so much of Angela and Valdir, a couple from Camobi, who were introduced to the church with almost exactly the same age, when their two oldest kids were 2 and a baby...and now they´ve been members for 20 years, all sealed in the temple, the oldest is on a mission and the next oldest is preparing to go, etc.....I can just see Cinthia and Wagner in the same place in 20 years :D I´m SO excited to see what happens with them and so grateful to have the opportunity to work with them.
So this week actually went so much better than I was expecting, I think we´re already past the lost stage and now it´s just normal work! I´m so glad we got over the hurdles so fast. Now the only challenge is the World Cup!:P I didn´t tell you guys about that last week, but it´s....just as big a deal here as you would imagine. The normal games are always on, but life continues as normal...but when Brasil plays, people don´t work, kids don´t have school...life completely stops. (Oh yeah, a bunch of streets here are decorated, too, with huge murals on the sidewalks and green and yellow flags and streamers everywhere.) We have to go home during Brasil games, President´s orders, to not be tempted to watch and also not to be caught in any of the craziness. So we´ve been home for the three games so far, but it´s so cool to be sitting in our apartment and then hear the whole world take a deep breath and then explode in screams and cheers and fireworks when they score.
Also, this week was the festa de São João (remember two years ago when I wrote you about San Juan in Spain??) but no one did anything exciting. But I did see a few kids dressed like....country people? Farmers? Running around in the streets. So that was really cute. But, in a nutshell, everything here´s continuing amazingly! We´re getting so much heavenly help in this new area. I´m so excited to be here and work with all these amazing people. I know I´m here for a reason and I can help them change their lives by introducing the Spirit into their homes. I love you all so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
So the second week here in Uruguaiana was great! It was actually a completely normal and actually a good week in terms of how much we were able to teach, the new investigators we were able to find, and everything. We´re totally, totally being blessed, because I was expecting to have a rough first few weeks opening the area! But it´s going amazing! Let´s see everything that happened.
We focused on getting a lot of new investigators this week, since there wasn´t a big teaching pool when we got here, and were able to find some amazing people! We found this couple who´s right out of those stories you always hear. Cinthia and Wagner are a young couple (she´s my age) with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We taught the first lesson to her and her grandma, and they loved it and were really receptive, but it didn´t seem unusual. (The first lesson for us is different than anywhere else, for those of you who have served missions. Presidente Myrrha broke up the first lesson into 3 parts: "The Ministry" is the first one we teach, followed by The Restoration, and third, The Book of Mormon. So the first lesson explains the mortal ministry of Christ, baptism, the church he established, and the atonement, with a challenge to accept Christ´´s sacrifice by being baptized. Then we leave the question of "hmm, why don´t any of the churches you know today have the same organization as that one Christ established?" with them)
So we set up a return appointment and went back. Cinthia had been cleaning the house and he said she had been all excited for us to get there. So we sat down, and the first thing she said was, "Hey, I wanted to tell you guys something. I was baptized in the Universal church like I told you but.....when I was baptized I didn´t feel anything. There was something missing." She said she and Wagner had already been to a million churches but hadn´t found one to stick with yet. So we told her in our message she would feel what she had been missing. They loved the restoration and agreed to go to church next week! I´m so excited about them - they remind me so much of Angela and Valdir, a couple from Camobi, who were introduced to the church with almost exactly the same age, when their two oldest kids were 2 and a baby...and now they´ve been members for 20 years, all sealed in the temple, the oldest is on a mission and the next oldest is preparing to go, etc.....I can just see Cinthia and Wagner in the same place in 20 years :D I´m SO excited to see what happens with them and so grateful to have the opportunity to work with them.
So this week actually went so much better than I was expecting, I think we´re already past the lost stage and now it´s just normal work! I´m so glad we got over the hurdles so fast. Now the only challenge is the World Cup!:P I didn´t tell you guys about that last week, but it´s....just as big a deal here as you would imagine. The normal games are always on, but life continues as normal...but when Brasil plays, people don´t work, kids don´t have school...life completely stops. (Oh yeah, a bunch of streets here are decorated, too, with huge murals on the sidewalks and green and yellow flags and streamers everywhere.) We have to go home during Brasil games, President´s orders, to not be tempted to watch and also not to be caught in any of the craziness. So we´ve been home for the three games so far, but it´s so cool to be sitting in our apartment and then hear the whole world take a deep breath and then explode in screams and cheers and fireworks when they score.
Also, this week was the festa de São João (remember two years ago when I wrote you about San Juan in Spain??) but no one did anything exciting. But I did see a few kids dressed like....country people? Farmers? Running around in the streets. So that was really cute. But, in a nutshell, everything here´s continuing amazingly! We´re getting so much heavenly help in this new area. I´m so excited to be here and work with all these amazing people. I know I´m here for a reason and I can help them change their lives by introducing the Spirit into their homes. I love you all so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
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