THERE NOT LIKE US 😎💖 ( sis Tebbies é sis Rocha )

 

WEEKLY 

(Long email warning, again not sorry) 

This week has been way better then last week! In the sense of I'm starting to accept that this is my life ahaha. Still have moments ( constantly) threw out the day however where I will be walking and see something so crazy and just have to reflect on what the heck I'm doing. Like i really did sign up for this ahaha. ( I do love being a missionary just being real.... its HARD ) adjusting to a whole new lifestyle, culture, language, is very shocking and is taking a minute to adjust! I am humbled everyday, my area is very poor and its amazing to see how happy and loving the people are towards us and one another. You really do choose your happiness. Nothing of this world can bring you pure joy, like family, good relationships and the love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This week has been very productive! My Portuguese is getting better, lots of good lessons, not much to report........Expect for the fact WE GOT OUR FIRST BAPTISM ‍

This has been such an incredible process to be apart of. And such a testimony builder to me on why im here on a mission!!! Diogo first came to the missionaries wanting to learn English because we also teach lots of English classes here. Well after class he asked about the church, so we scheduled for lessons and he LOVED THEM! His first lesson was actually my first day in Lavras too, so proud to say I've been with him this whole process and actually contributed to his conversion  

Diogo has told me I was an answered pray for him, and what I taught him was exactly what he needed to hear. But really he has been an answered prayer for me. Ive struggled so bad trying to understand the language, been really hard trying to connect to people and understand there needs when you cant speak or understand what's really happening. So I've been struggling feeling alone and very very inadequate. However. Diogo is the first person I have been able to talk and connect with and felt like I was making a difference ( he's picked up on English so fast and speaks really good) what I can't say in Portuguese I can say in English. Diogo is always gonna be a reminder to me on why I chose to be on a mission. He has taught me how to let go of myself and my worries and hand them over to god. And to just serve and love other instead. His experience and conversion helped reminded me of my missionary purpose

 " Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end". 

The feelings I felt watching him get baptisted, was just overwhelming joy, and that god loves us, we are his children and everything unfair in this world can be made right threw him. He is our pure source of peace. 

Love you all and I know that this gospel is true. 

MIRACLES THIS WEEK!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD GUYS !!! If you read anything from my email read this. 

- so we almost didn't baptized Diogo because it is soooo DRY here . Its the dry season right now, so the city shuts all the water off for a few hours a day and sometimes 1-2 days. Kind of wild. Thus why lots of people drink juices and sodas, not enough water, and its not clean. Me and sister Rocha cleaned the font and then later we got a call we need to fill it now before the city shuts off the water. But the city beat us to it. So we prayed that we would get water, we told god our plan, than we acted on that plan. So we went about our day working, and we worked Really hard. We met our goals and every three hours we would make the TREK all up hill, ( really wish I was kidding ) back to the church to check and see if the water would work. Every time we checked It did not work. Well it was 8:30 pm and we just got done teaching our institute class, but our curfew  was 9 so we asked the branch president to go back for us and check the water. I said a prayer and said " God, we have the faith and we know you have the power to do anything, if it is of thy will, please let this water work so Diogo can be baptized tomorrow ". We waited anxiously for a call and we got the best news......... THE WATER WORKED!!!!! I was bawling it was one of the coolest experience of my life. God is real. And he blesses those that give effort. 

-So our numbers here in Lavras have been really low, we have struggled getting people to church and being interested. But don't fret!!! me and sister Rocha are PRESISTANT! So every Sunday before church we call and text the people we invited, along with we go to each person house we invite and ask them to walk with us to church. Usually they ignore us. BUT THIS SUNDAY not only did almost everyone respond to our calls, they ACTUALLY PULLED UP! The chapel was full!  and when we went to go pick up these two families, they were outside waiting for us..... such a tender mercy. 

FUNNY MOMENTS!! / HIGHLIGHTS

-Was working out in the morning and we were doing legs and abs and sister Rocha looks at me and goes " what's popping? " and i looked backed at her and said " brand new whip just hopped in... I got opinions " then I go quite for her to finish my sentence to the song WHATS POPPIN by jack Harlow. And welp she just stared at me like I was crazy...-10 aura points lost. was very funny though. I did give her some grace, my knee was actually popping and making a sound when I was squatting. She eventually understood what I was singing though 

- weirdly enough I get asked ALOT if I got surgery on my eyes to make them that green or if I wear green contact lenses..... ahaha and it shocks people when I tell them there my natural.

-Were walking and mid conversation sister Rocha eat craps and literally kisses the concrete. Face planted into the road.. poor girl scraped upped her knees pretty good. I couldn't help but laugh though it was so funny. Lots of random curbs and uneven road here. 

-This little girl in the street was doing Brazilian Funk dancing so I started dancing and she was laughing then she told me to stop and repeat after her.... so basically long story short I'm a pro now. Still waiting for someone to teach me how to samba 

-Got yelled at by some lady on the phone because she thought her husband was cheating on her with us.... and we had to explain we were ACTUAL missionaries 

-Was trying to teach a lesson to this lady and she just wanted me to talk to her son so we could get married. Then she comes walking into the room with a veil on her head and asked me to try it on " you would look so pretty with a veil " and i said no thanks.  Then she explained how her church all the women wear veils to the meetings and then she got out her church's bible and song books, and made me and sister Rocha sing hymns with her. Was probably my favorite lesson on the mission yet. She was so funny and just her ADHD was hilarious, and so relatable. 

-Literally sprinting down hill back to our apartment because our lesson got done late and we were late for curfew and to make things worse the APs were facetiming us to check in and we weren't home.... ( video in google photos ) 

-Playing with all the kids is my favorite part of the week... 

-Food never gets old so good ( Açui aqui é melhor ) 

- seeing sister hoover not once but THREE TIMES ON ZOOM!! LOVE and miss her so much.  

 - at family home evening the members loved abba so THEY WERE PLAYING ABBA/MOMMA MIA... i almost cried I was so happy. Was such a moral boost