Sister Aundrea Evans In Sao Paulo

This last week was rough, our baptisms fell through. Out of the 12 people that went to church last Sunday, none of them were baptized. So that was fun. Buuuut we´re working hard anyway to be better. Also, p-day wasn´t on Monday, that´s why my email is late. We went to the TEMPLE IN CAMPINAS WITH PREZ AND SIS FARNES FOR THE LAST TIME and it was beautiful. I really feel renewed and refreshed and ready to be a better person in general. Also I’m sorry it was short but I’m tired and going to sleep now. 

Amo vocês!! Boa semana!!

Sister Evans

Aundrea and Sister Tuimoala

Finally a chance to go to the temple- Campinas Brazil Temple

President & Sister Farnes

Holiness to the Lord

Sister Gongalves

Beautiful women in a beautiful place

First of all, Eden is not quite the paradise I was expecting. There´s old men who mock our beliefs in our faces, children that throw rocks at us, and atheists that are more Christian than the Christians. But on the bright side, there is only 3 hills, the rest is flat, which is actually heaven. We also have a ward here, and a church building which is lovely, and one of the members looks like my cousin Jaren. 

My comp is Sister Tuimoala from Auckland, New Zealand. She´s super cute and full of life and love. She has 4 months on the mish. This week was great, I’m getting to know Eden, and it´s pretty cool so far. There is a ton of Hattians, which is fun, but now I’m wishing that I tried to learn French before the mish. We baptized this kid Oscar this week, and he´s from Haiti. He´s hilarious, and speaks like 10 words in Portuguese, 5 words in English, and fluent French and creole. Our lessons with him involved a lot of drawings, and google translate. Luckily, last transfer my comp had asked for a French Book of Mormon because she wanted to learn French, and they sent 2, so she gave me one. So I had this French book of Mormon, and when I met Oscar, I decided to give it to him. So that´s awesome, he´s reading it with Portuguese to learn faster. Nice. 

This transfer is my first time being senior companion, which consists of a lot more responsibility. I have to know how, when, where, and what to do. It´s weird, but it´s really fun being in charge. I finally am able to put everything that I’ve learned together, and work in the way that I feel will be best. I’m learning to trust in the Lord with everything that I have, as I no longer have an older and wiser companion to rely on. It´s super fun because I see myself in sister Tuimoala, the questions that she has, the way she thinks, is almost exactly the same when I had 4 months. It´s awesome because I actually know how to help. Guys I know things!!! Wow!!! 

I am extremely grateful for all of the opportunities we have to learn, whether from trials or happiness, it all helps us grow. Our growth never stops, we always need to be progressing. If we are at a stand-still, or going through the motions, we´re doing it wrong. We have to take risks in order to accomplish things. We gotta just go for it, or just do it, as Nike says. We need to grasp the iron rod, and press forward with steadfastness in Christ, with a perfect brightness of hope, which means that we need to have goals, and have faith that we will accomplish them with the help of the Lord. You cannot have fear, because fear and faith cannot exist in the same place. JUST DO IT! SÓ VAI CORINTHIANS!!!  

AMO VOCÊS! BOA SEMANA!

Ps. my comp is teaching me the Haka chant, be jealous. 
 

Sister Evans

New companion, Sister Tuimoala from New Zealand

 

 [Short & sweet- must be busy packing up. As she’s going into winter there I asked about weather & told her how crazy ours has been w/lots of storms.  She said it’ll be hot & humid in the day then rain hard at night. They even had hail & everyone thought the world was ending. Now the temp is 40-50 degrees & she loves it, of course.]

So I found out I’m being transferred tomorrow!! I´m going to Eden, just outside of Sorocaba, and my companion is from New Zealand!! I don´t remember her name it´s really hard. I´m super sad to leave Pilar do Sul because I have so many people I love here. It was especially hard to say goodbye to Benedito, my RC. I cried, and I don´t ever cry. 😥 But I have to keep going to keep growing. It´s hard, but necessary. 

This week Vivian was baptized! This girl is literally pure gold! She is incredible. She started doing personal progress before her baptism even! she´s 17 and is becoming an amazing woman. I don´t know what I did to deserve to baptize her. 

I am so grateful to have served in Pilar, I will miss everyone here so much it hurts help me. But on to the next chapter. 2017 LORD´S TRIP WE´RE GOIN BIG!!!! 

I know that this church is true, and I know that we can live again with our families and friends in the life to come. I know that we are never alone in our difficulties because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and because He has felt everything, and has paid for everything, so we have no need to dwell on the past, but can look and press forward with faith in Him. I love this gospel, and love you all too!!! 

Boa semana!!!

Sister Evans

Benedito’s Baptism with Daniel

Happy 20th Birthday- package was 6 weeks late but better late then never

Best Chicken & Rice casserole by Tatiane

Yummy Jello too!

Best food ever! Thank you Tatiane

This week was great, we baptized Alessandro on Saturday and on Sunday he was confirmed!! It was really incredible because Satan tried almost everything to prevent this guy´s baptism. He had been super soft on baptism the whole time teaching him. He knew he needed it, he knew it was true, but yet he didn´t want to be baptized. Friday, we taught him out of 2 Nephi 31 which focuses on baptism and the blessings of. The spirit was super strong, and we asked him one more time, with the intent of dropping him if he said no, if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by the literal power of God. He sat there for several minutes, in silence. Kind of awkward, actually. Finally, after like 5 minutes of thinking, he said quietly, I will. I honestly was not expecting that response and I almost fell off my chair. Buuuuuut the next day was his baptism, and we went to the church to fill up the font, and went and worked and then came back for the baptism. We turned off the water and went outside to wait for him, and there we has walking by, but not towards the church. We greeted him and he said that today wouldn´t work for him, that he didn´t want to anymore. We talked to him, helping him remember his feelings from the day before. Also a drunk guy named Luiz who is in love with me and my companion (only when he´s drunk) showed up and kept trying to talk to us and it was super frustrating because he was making Alessandro anxious. 

BUT finally Alessandro decided he´d go in the church just to see. So he walked in and climbed the stairs…. very…. slowly. He looked at the filled font, we showed him his baptism jumpsuit and gave it to him, and he thought for several minutes. Finally he walked into the bathroom to change. I almost peed myself I was so excited. Then Luiz came in too as part of Satan´s plot ughasdjflçsfh. Anyway ALessandro came out and said  let´s go before I get discouraged again we gotta just go for it while I’m excited. And we were like let´s go buuuuuuuuut NO ONE in the branch would be able to be a second witness and we called everyone. Finally after like 15 minutes of desperate telephone calls, and Luiz trying to get our attention, Lucas, who would be one of the witnesses, and is also secretary of the branch called the branch prez and prez said he could come just to be witness and then leave right after. So we started the meeting, san a hymn, said a prayer, gave a talk, and went to the water. 

Oh one detail, the heater that makes the water warm disappeared, so the poor guy had to be baptized in cold water. Real cold. Buuuuut prez showed up, and he was baptized in one perfect dunk. It was wonderful except for the part where Luiz raised his hand at the end and exclaimed drunkenly I BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF– ok Luiz that´s enough thank you go sit down. And prez left and Alessandro changed and we said a closing prayer and left. Wow it was rough. But Alessandro literally looked like a different person afterwards. No joke. It was awesome. And we left the chapel and Luiz was still there telling us that he loves us and wants us to come home with him. (He´s married and his wife hates us for some reason) no Luiz, go home right now. Eventually we just all left him there in front of the church and continued with our day. 

So that was fun, and I really admire the leap of faith Alessandro took, to just go for it, even though he didn´t want to, but knew that he needed to. (What up title reference) And so that was that. 

I also learned this week that when we work hard and do everything we can, the lord will carry us. I really felt His hand in the work this week. We definitely could have done better with talking to people and just doing more in general, but nonetheless we were super blessed. I am going to work as hard as ever this week to give thanks for our blessings, and because it´s the last week of the transfer. I am so grateful to be a missionary and a representative of Jesus Christ. I know this is His gospel, and only through Him can we have eternal life. 

Amo vocês!!!!! Boa semana!!

Sister Evans

Baptism of Maria Clara (blue jacket)

Sister Araujo

“You know dats right!”

Baptism of Victor