Week 64 (02/10/20) Four Baptisms & Happy Valentines Day !!! J 

Hey there family! Happy Valentines Day!

Well I'm week 5  into this transfer, just one more to go, before 12 weeks till I'm home! Its hard to imagine where the time has gone!

This week has been pretty stressful, with helping 4 people prepare for baptism. Did you say "4" baptisms Sister Pierce? Yes, you heard me correctly. Last email you told us that only "3" people were planning on getting  baptized this week. 

I testify to you that miracles are real, let me tell you why.  So this past week we went to the house of Joao Paulo, remember I told you about the family that went to family night a few weeks ago? So their son, Riquelme, we invited him to be baptized, he didn't refuse, but didn't accept either, because he wanted an answer from his prayers first. 

Okay, so lots of time passed, and we went to go visit them this last week. As we were talking, Riquelme says I finally got answer. He said "Last time you were here, you promised me that God would answer my prayers, and he did". The date for his baptism is scheduled for Saturday night along with Camilly, Mariah and Christina!!!

So we had to quickly scramble and finish teaching him all the lessons. That was super hectic. We told him that this  week would be really hard for him with starting school, peer presser would be there. But we told him that he can do it,and that he and his family would be blessed for his efforts and his decision to be baptized. So the week went on, and Thursday was his interview, and he passed. Our Mission  President almost didn't let him get baptized because he only went to church 2 times (which i'll explain a little later in the email) Later that evening, his family made us a delicious dinner to celebrate his baptism.  Ana Paula made pasta with a white sauce and chicken, wow it was great!

Then the next day is Friday. I knew that we had missionary interviews today, but what I didn't know is that before our interviews we had a special training given by our leaders. We are going along in our day, then I got a phone call from our district leader, this is our conversation:

Sister Pierce: "Bom Dia Elder, Tudo Bem?" (Good morning Elder, Hows it going?) 


District Leader: "Tudo Sister, voces estao perto?" (All is well sister, are you guys close?)

Sister Pierce: "Perto de onde Elder?"  (Close to where Elder?) 


District Leader: "Sister, nos temos uma treinamento agora!" (Sister We have a training right now!)

Sister Pierce: "Eu Falei, Elder, nos nao estamos perto, nos estamos em casa, planejando nossa dia" (Elder,we aren't even close, were still at home planning our day)

He said, "Sister I told you about this training!"  And I said "NO you didn't!" ,he said NOOOO!! Sister, I did!!  I wanted to jump through the phone to ring his neck, I was so furious with him!!  So I had to quickly call a member, thankfully the Bishops wife, Raphaela was available and we asked if she could give us a ride to the office.  She rushed and was at our house within 10 minutes, truly a life saver!!

And when we got there I hardly said a word, and then this Elder had the nerve to ask me if I would play the piano? Normally playing brings me great joy, but I didn't feel happy playing, especially for him. I still don't know if he really told me and I forgot, or he really didn't tell us. But whatever the case, just  one more week with him, as my leader, or at least I'm hoping. 

So fast forward, the training was great, and it was focused on the Book of Mormon (O Livro de Mormon) How it should be a powerful tool that we should use in the Lords work. And the other training was about working more with members.

Afterwards, because our interviews were drug out, we went to lunch and then returned back to the office, and had our interviews with President Santos. I expressed my concerns with him, and cried A LOT in my interview with him, because I just feel so stressed about everything. The baptisms, my companion, my area, my leaders. He gave me some good counsel to trust more in the Lord.

He said "Sister you only have 2 more transfers,work hard, and stay focused". First he said you won't stay with your companion the next transfer, and then he asked me how I feel about training?  I just laughed and said, Uhhhhh President? He said "I think your going to like it". And then he said some other things about leadership positions, so truthfully I have no idea what's going to happen this next transfer. I don't know if I'm going to stay here in my area, or if I will be a trainer, or something else. Who knows? He is a box full of surprises. 

After our Interview, I asked if he could give me blessing.  Which he did, and of  course I cried the entire time too. And in the blessing, he blessed me with happiness, and peace, and joy in my heart, and that my family will be blessed as well. Trust in the Lord and He will guide you. It was very beautiful. We parted ways, and returned to our area,just in time for our next interviews, with Cristina, Mariah and Camilly. Once again they passed, and that concluded our Friday. Only one more day before baptisms.

Saturday is finally here and super busy as well. From running around like a chicken with its head cut off. So our morning went smoothly, went to lunch, and on our way back Sister Ferreira needed to use the bathroom, we quickly stopped at Ana Paulas house, and it was good that we did. She was definitely needing it. So first off, she is 6 months pregnant.  As we were talking with her, she starts telling us about her mom who is like crazy. They were conversing Friday night about Riquelme being baptized. She really gave them a show, saying that the church is of Satan, and we worship Joseph Smith, and a bunch of other stuff including videos she found on youtube. 

And she then she asks how do they even baptize? Ana Paula tried explaining to her, by immersion, and with white clothes. And then Riquelme being funny says, "No, they use black caps and bury you in the water, and they have you give blood" HAHAHAHA!!!! She says, that's ridiculous! and he says, well that's about how your describing it. And so she says, fine! I will go just to see how this baptism really works. 

Ana Paula continues saying that she was super stressed out, and was bleeding a lot. It also doesn't help that last week she fell down the stairs, so yeah, And then she said Riquelme was offered marijuana at school yesterday (Friday) It was crazy for them.

Then Camilly who is 12 years old said that 3 cute  boys came up to her and wanted to go out and get "together with her" if you know what I mean,  LOCO RIGHT?  Cristina, her health has always been her biggest downfall, and Mariah, I think just arguing a lot with her sister and parents. Satan works overtime when people want to get baptized.

Thank goodness our Ward Mission Leader,  Irmao Joao  was able to help us with lots of things. The Baptismal font was being stubborn, and he had to clean it because it has lots and lots of bugs, welcome to Brazil. 

So then our phone ran out of credits, great right? We said a prayer asking God to have someone call us, because we could receive phone calls but not make them, and so Irma called us, and we able to ask her for a favor to call Joao about a ride to church for us because we were depending on a ride from him because we had our cookies, and cake  and tort, and we couldn't walk to church with all these things, and so we finally got there late, but thank goodness lots of people were there. It was super special, I was able to play the piano and everyone sang. I wish you could all have been there.

I'm sure lots of other things happened as well, but all in all it was a great week. In a talk I was reading this past week, "The Gospel Path to happiness" by Elder Holland, Sept 2017. I loved what he was saying, that happiness is the journey and not the destination. Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the  path that leads to it - Joseph Smith. 

Elder Holland continues about the story of Lehi and his family, and all of their trials they passed through. They didn't have the best of everything, they were living in the middle of the desert out of nowhere! He says that "They lived after the manner of happiness" (2ne 5:27). I loved this talk, and hope that you guys can read it this week. 

I wanted to thank you again for my Alphasmart. This handy tool is just what all missionaries need here in Brasil. I wish we knew about it at the beginning of my mission.

In a funny but sarcastic way, we know how smart Satan is, right? He knows us, just as well as our Heavenly Father knows us, but the difference, is Satan dwells on our weaknesses, whereas Our loving Heavenly Father, provides us a way to over come these weaknesses, just like that scripture in Helaman 5:12, where our weakness can become our strengths, through the redeeming love of our Savior- Jesus Christ. 

As I've been studying and reading O Livro de Mormon, I'm always impressed, about how things that happened so long ago still apply to us now. I  believe it with all my heart, is that it was written for us, and it truly has power. I still don't understand how I'm able to comprehend it, especially in another language, but through the power of God, I can. And I have such a love for it now. What I see here in the mission, people have a hard time accepting anything other than the Bible, but once they start reading it, they can see that we use both of them together to testify about Jesus Christ.

This year at church we have this amazing privilege to read and study O Livro de Mormon individually and as a family, and I sincerely hope you are are all doing so. I believe with all my heart, that the Book of Mormon, really is the word of God, and if were were able to just understand just a small fraction of the price that our family paid, the sacrifices of everyone who wrote in it so that we could have it now, there wouldn't be anyway we could lay it down, or just have it on the ground, or supporting something,but continually studying it.

I love you with all heart, and miss you so much, and hope that you will feast  upon the words of Christ this week. Thank you for all your love and support and prayers that you are continually sending. I hope you have an amazing week full of happiness and Joy. 

With all my love and thanks, I love you lots, sending you my love from Brasil,

Sister Pierce