Area Number 5

5/05/14

Hello people,

What a week. I was transfered to Lajeado. It´s pretty close to my first area on the mission, Santa Cruz. This area is HUGE! We cover 3 cities. I´m living in an apartment of 4 again. I think that it´s hilarious how I have a lot of patterns on the mission. I always trade comps after one transfer, I always live on and off in an apartment of 2 then 4 then 2 then 4, and I'm always the first American companion. Right now I´m serving with Sister Oliveira Souza. She´s 20 years old, and we arrived on the mission together.

It was a good yet stressful week. We tried to work our tails off, and we had a baptism scheduled for Sunday for a 14 year old girl named Erica. She´s amazingly sweet! Anyway, everything was planned out and perfect. The interview went well and she was at church on Sunday morning, rain and everything. Everything was going super well... Until she decided to land a bomb shell... During Sacrament she turned to Sister Oliveira Souza and said that she didn´t want to be baptized. WHAT?! NOOOOOOO! That´s about the worst thing that any investigator could say only hours before the baptism... We left sacrament meeting, and tried to talk to her in another room to figure out what was wrong, or what happened. She said a whole bunch of things, and all in all, she was scared. She ended up leaving Sacrament meeting early with her mom, and we couldn´t get ahold of her the whole day... It was really sad. She was so ready and excited the other day, and then on Sunday she let all of her fears take over.


So, this was how I ended my week here in Lajeado. It was a sad ending, but Sister Oliveira Souza and I have another week ahead of us. We´re trying our best. We want to help this area grow. We work in 3 different cities, so we´re thinking about moving our work to the next city. The people are more open and willing to hear our message. They´ve never heard of the church before! Missionaries have never passed through Arroio do Meio. We have a lot of work and lot of fasting to do, but our goal is to open a group there. A group is like a branch or a ward, but super, super small. I was to come back here after the mission and see a ward in Arroio do Meio!

I´m still loving the mission, even when things don´t work out perfectly. There are always so many things to learn. I have a lot of growing to do, and I know that a lot of that growing will happen this transfer.

I love you all and I´m so grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers. I got more letters in the mail this week from the ward members. I´m so grateful for you all!

Have a perfect week! I love you all!


Sister Emily Stevens

More churrasco!

  

  

Tchau tchau São Luiz

  

More Pictures!

4/28/14

I made it 8 months! WHAT?? I can't believe how fast time flies! My daughter Sister M. Silva made 3 months. Look how big she´s gotten!

   

When Elders infiltrate your area to "go to the dentist"

We had lunch with two awesome Elders at the house of a member on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun, because a lot of the Elders here on the mission are awful! They don´t talk with the sisters because they´re afraid of flirting.... Ridiculous! But these elders are show de bola (really cool)!

Members and churrasco!

Giant pizza and my district
 

Brownies and ice-cream to celebrate our mission anniversaries

Easter gifts!

Lunch with members

Easter Miracles

4/21/14

Hello family and friends! I hope that you all had an amazing week and an amazing Easter.

I know that I did! I loved this Easter. It was a fantastic day! Sister M. Silva and I experienced more milagres here in São Luiz. Yesterday depois Sacrament meeting, we had a special Easter baptism! The mother of Sarah (our first baptism here in São Luiz) called us on Wednesday morning just to tell us that she wanted to be baptized. What?! This was an amazing event, because she had just decided the night before that she wanted more time. She knew that this was the true church, but she didn´t feel ready for baptism. When she called, she told us that she hadn't slept the whole night... She said that she had been thinking and praying about all the things that we said to her the night before, and she said that she was ready and she wanted to be baptized. What a miracle! I´ve never had one of those experiences on the mission where someone calls you because they felt that they needed to be baptized. I love the mission! I love this area! 

 

 

It´s so fantastic to witness these families coming together and receiving the blessings of baptism.

I hope that you all have a fantastic week. Remember the importance of baptism. It really is a covenant that we make with the Lord to keep his commandments and help one another. When we make this promise with the Lord, we can receive all the glories that he has, and we can be blessed to live with our families for ever. Remember the covenants you made at baptism, and continue diligently to do your best.

I love you all!


Sister Emily Stevens