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Category: February 2017

Olaa Gente

Olaa Gente

This week was great! Yesterday we had the baptism of Marcel who is super firm and super excited about the gospel. He was bouncing off the walls before and was so happy afterwards ouch my heart. our other investigator Daniel that I told yáll about last week cut us that day, because  he´s from another state and decided he was going back the next day, so we said goodbye. He said to stop bye later the next day though in case he hadn´t let yet. But we assumed he left, even though we didn´t believe him. And I couldn´t help but feel that he still hadn´t left and that we need to go back. We went back, talked to his sister, and she said he still hadn´t left and his stuff was still everywhere. He wasn’t home at t that time because he found a friend and went off to a sitio to chill. We just hope he´s making good choices, because he told us that he still has a very strong addiction to drugs. We´ll be going back this week hopefully and try to keep working with him because he needs it. 

This week we met this lady knocking doors who is Buddhist and doesn´t believe in God at all, and actually seems to be against Him. She has passed through so much suffering in her life, and she used to be catholic, and left because she does not accept the idea of a Father sending his son to suffer and die. She doesn´t understand why Christ suffered for us if there is still going to be suffering. This really bothered me. In fact, I couldn´t sleep for several hours because of this lady. The next day I studied and studied to find an answer. Here´s what I found regarding the atonement of Christ:

The Atonement consists of Christ´s sinless life, suffering in the garden of gethsemane, death on the cross, and his resurrection(or triumph over death). The Atonement covers everyone unconditionally, meaning we will all be resurrected and have immortal bodies– everyone who has ever lived, good or bad. BUT the Atonement is conditional individually, according to our own sins. We can utilize the Atonement by having faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost under the priesthood authority of Christ, and enduring to the end, or striving to be better every day. No matter what, the atonement is there. Christ suffered for our sins so we can live with our heavenly father again. Whether we accept it or not, it happened, and we can utilize it or not. This is all based on our faith. If we do not have faith in Christ, we will not understand the need for his atonement. When we have faith, we enjoy the peace that comes from knowing that we are able to live with our father in heaven again. 

I am so grateful for Christ’s atonement, and the opportunity I have to preach his gospel. I know this church is true, and I know that through Christ, we can have true joy in our lives. 

Love you all!!!

Sister Evans

 

4 months & getting transferred

4 months & getting transferred

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OLA!!

So I officially hit 4 months Friday!! Passa rapido!! AND I´m officially done being trained!! Woohoo!! Except for now I have to be like actually responsible and know what I’m doing and stuff so this ought to be good. I probably know more than I think, because the Lord´s work is the Lord´s work, no matter where we are. Anyway, my new area is called Morado do Sol, in the Zone Itu. I don´t know much about it except for the word ´sun´ is in the name so here we go. I’m excited!! I’m really gonna miss Cerquilho, because I was born there and my first mission fam is there. But it will be okay. I’m nervous to start a new area, but this time I can understand Portuguese and speak sometimes and I know how to teach and so it should be okay. 

 

As I looked back on my past 2 transfers, they were really hard. I baptized once, and he hasn´t been to church since. I can´t help but think it was my fault that he hasn´t stayed firm, but I also didn´t really know what I was doing. But we talked to him yesterday to say goodbye, and I got some closure. He was struggling earlier in the transfer because he hadn´t talked to his family and stuff and just more stuff. But we talked to him and he is happier and will be going to church. So things are looking up there. But this transfer was especially hard because it has been the hardest I have ever worked in my life, and we have had very little to no fruits. We knocked doors for hours on end, around 40 per day, and that was a lot for me. 

 

But I remembered that I was placed here for a reason, and I will be able to use these experiences to help me through new ones. And that´s really what life is. Learning from our past to be better in the future. Our past mistakes can be forgiven, and we can move on. We should constantly be looking to progress. We should never be content with our current position, because there is always room to improve. But it´s also important to step back and look at your progress, because it is easy to get discouraged when you feel like it is never enough. Realize that you are a child of God, and He has sent you here for a reason. Strive to become closer to Him, and you will be so much happier. You will see your progress and motivated to do even better. I can´t believe where I am today compared to only 4 months ago. 

 

I know that Christ always has his hand stretched out to us, and we just have to take it. When we do our best to fulfill our part, He will always do His. “…For I know the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a ways for them, that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.´´ 1 Nephi 3:7 SÓ VAI!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Sister Evans

Pics: my mission fam (irma Jô , kerollene, douglas)

Cerquilho sunset; cool building

“many people follow me, but only God stays with me´´ something like that
lol toilet paper brand
we had to go buy toilet paper for this little market so we could use their bathroom and we used their money and counted it as a service project haha
a majestic snow tiger
shadows of victory
abel my recent convert and me
 
God’s Love

God’s Love

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*unedited- meaning no grammar, punctuation, or English were corrected this time around by mom 🙂

Boooooooooooa tarde meu povo!!!

This week felt like 7 years, and felt like we did nothing even though we were freaking busy as heck.
 
It all started last P-day.
 
We weeded the yard of our Ward Mission Leader as a service project and it was hot. Then our investigator Jessica invited us to eat lunh with her and we ended up teaching her the 10 commandments, during which the mision secretaries were caling us every 3 seconds saying it was urgent. So we finish the lesson and learn that we have to be In São Paulo at 8:00 that night to sleep some other sister´s house to renew Sis B´s visa the next morning. so we go and blow 60 reais each on that, but it was so fun. We hung out with Elder Brum, Christensen, and Alves. It was so fun they are hilarious and basically my long lost cousins except for 2 of them are brazilian haha. 
Also, we got to the federal police place to renew the visa, and the diversity there is incredible. there were peope from the USA, Africa, Syria, Jamaica, and all over. We talked to this amazing lady from jamaica, a guy from india, and a guy from africa that spoke french. So i got to speak english to people from other countires!! it was AWESOME. we played this game i learned in the ctm with them while waiting in line. It was an incredible experience. We then ate lunch with the elders and they said we might have to come back in 2 days, but we went home anyway so we could work. 
so we got home, slept, worked the next day, and got a call again saying we had to go back to São Paulo. Sooo we went back, slept at the sister´s house, woke up the next day and went to go finish the stuff with the elders. (all this traveling includes taking buses and trains and escaltaors and it´s very complicated, but i´m sure i know my way around the stations now.) and it was so fun. thistime in the federal police place we talked to a syrian family who came to brazil because of the war there. It was so sad to see all these people who are so good fleeing their home country because it is not safe there anymore. definitely made me think about how blessed i am to have grown up during a peaceful time in a great country, and now to be serving in another peaceful, free country. people have it a lot worse. 
 
We finished tht up, had lunch, and went back again. so we didn´t meet our goals this week, but we worked hard, and figured out some things that we realized we could fix to have better results in the future. also, the investigator tht invited us to lunch cut us, saying she didn´t want to be baptized becuase she doesn´t feel like she is ready,  even though she is so prepared. sigh. 
 
BUT  we have another guy named flaviano who we are teaching, and helping stope smoking and drinking, and he is doing so good!!!! he was a reference from Dr Julio who lives in campinas but comes everyonce in a while to give us references. and out of the 115 he gave us, only flaviano came through, but it has been awesome. he is progressing so much, and he came to churh for the 2nd time yesterday and he bore his testimony !!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Talk about God´s elect. he will be baptized next sunday. he is so good, i´ve never experienced this before. i have so much love and concern for this guy who i´ve known for 2 weeks, i can only imagine how much he is loved by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 
 
Miracles are real, people. I know this church is true, and that this is th gospel of Jesus Christ, exactly as He established when He was on the earth, resotred in this day. i know that we are children of God, and that He loves us more than we can ever imagine. i know that there is life after death, and that if we do all we can to become closer to christ in this life, we can be with him and our families in the next. 
 
Eu amo vocês!!!! 
 
Sister (McDanger) Evans
Pics: family that had escaped the war in Syria learned Arabic and drew them; one of the many bus rides, Sister McDanger & Sister McSavage 🙂 Beautiful Cerhquillho