Thanksgiving in Timbauva; ward is "on fire"

Hi dear family! Wow.......I feel very loved today! Looooots of emails to read! Thank you so much for all of the emails and love :) and.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA! I hope you have a wonderful and fun 20th birthday!!

It sounds like you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Sister Inhuma and I had a fun Brazilian Thanksgiving too :) I was super happy to see that we had lunch scheduled with Rita, Alex, and Pai on Thursday....what luck!! Sister Inhuma and I made pumpkin pie (thanks for the recipe, mom!) to bring to the feast...and it was soooo yummy!!

Everyone loved it, even though they said it was MUCH different than anything they had ever tried. haha...it was fun

It really is starting to feel like Christmas here....even in the 90 degree weather and the lack of snow. Sister Inhuma looooooves music and always has something playing the moment she wakes up in the morning until we leave for the day....and then the moment we walk in the door until lights out. (she reminds me of you, Melissa) And now that December is arriving...it´s all Christmas music! It´s really getting me into a festive, cheerful spirit!

Speaking of Christmas...my mission president, Presidente Pavan, started a new program with the Christmas DVD "Mundo Feliz" ("Joy to the World") for our mission this December. All of the members were asked to think of families that they knew and that they´d like to share the gospel with. And during the month of December the missionaries will be making visits with them to watch the DVD with the family in their home. Our ward is super excited about this program....to tell you the truth, the ward seems to suddenly be on fire with the "missionary work" spirit. I think a lot of it has to do with the recent baptism of Idimir and Eliane and their family....it´s gotten everyone excited and eager to share the gospel! Sister Inhuma and I have already received over 20 names of different families....it´s going to make this month a very busy and happy one :) No better way to get ready for Christmas!!!

So guess what....once again we found some wonderful new investigators this week!! Michele is a 21 year old girl that we found knocking doors. She is so sweet and kind and was really interested in learning more about the church. I was very amazed at how happy and loving she was...especially after I learned that she has been sick with cancer and not been able to leave her home for 3 months. It´s amazing how much love and faith some people have, that keeps them smiling and serving even when their own lives are difficult. I´m really learning a lot about love from the people that I am meeting here every day...

We also began teaching a couple that I am very excited about....Charlene and Luciano. A family from the Montenegro ward gave us their names and from the first day that we met them, I knew that I was going to love teaching them! Charlene always has a huge smile and is always always laughing. Luciano was really interested in our message, especially in the Book of Mormon, and had a lot of great and perfect questions. I´m really excited to visit them again!

Well, I love you all sooo much! Thank you for all of your prayers and emails. You´re words of advice are exactly what I need and keep me feeling happy and loved. Remember that Heavenly Father loves us so much and that He wants us to have joy! I love serving as a missionary here in Brazil and I feel His love for me and for His children every single day. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives and for the peace and joy that it brings :) I love you all!!

Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Thanksgiving Week and counting the blessings :)

Hello dear family that I love!

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Are you all excited for Thanksgiving? Wow...I can´t believe that the holidays are already arriving!! Time is going so quickly... This week was a fabulous one for me and Sister Inhuma here in Timbaúva. I love being her companion...she is so kind and loving and super fun too :) This week we celebrated her 9-month mark on the mission with....of course...chocolate!! She´s half-way done already! Craaaazy.... I want to enjoy every moment of my mission...because it´s going to go very fast!

The happiest news of the week was that Ana Carla came to church!! I was so excited to see her and her 2 year old daughter, Nicole, walk in the door. From the very first day that we met her, I knew that she was special...she is very humble and loving and has incredible faith...I was sure that she was going to be quick to accept the gospel! But for one reason or another it has always always been difficult to get her to come to church... So I was super happy and surprised to see her this Sunday. :) She loved it too! The ward´s Primary Program was this week....and it was a perfect day for her to come! Family is very important to her and I could tell that she really liked hearing the testimonies of the primary children. Ana Carla is leaving this week for a month long trip to visit her parents in Maceió this December....so I´m not sure exactly what will happen when she gets back. But I´m so happy that I got to teach her and get to know her and hear her sweet and powerful testimony....and I´m excited for the lucky sisters that get to teach her when she gets back in January. Who knows....maybe I´ll still be here :)

I´m also excited about another young woman that Rita is the daughter-in-law of a member in the ward. Her husband, Márco, is not active and not interested...but Rita has shown a lot of interest in the church the last few months, thanks to the example and testimony of her mother-in-law Tânia. She´s been going to church and to the ward activities and always comments on the Spirit she feels there and the happiness that all the members seem to have. This Sunday when we were at her home reading the Book of Mormon together, she told us that she had been praying for a long time to know if it was true without receiving an answer. But the night before, she said her prayers and opened the Book of Mormon to read a few verses as normal....only this night was different. She said that as she read she was filled with a strong spirit of peace and happiness and suddenly had a huge desire to read more and more. Even though it was late at night, she said that she read for hours and didn´t even feel tired. She was so happy as she told us this story and about her new testimony of the Book of Mormon...her eyes were glowing! :) Isn´t great how Heavenly Father hears and answers every single prayer? He loves us sooo much...

Thank you for all of your prayers for me and for the people that we are teaching here. :) I love you all and you´re all in my prayers too! Welcome to the neighborhood, Mike and Candy! I know you will love the Edgemont ward....everyone is very welcoming and loving. I´m excited to be your neigbor when I get home! I hope that everyone is getting excited for Thanksgiving!! Are you going to make a Razzleberry pie since I won´t be there, Megan? haha...

I love you all! It´s Thanksgiving Week and we have sooo much to be grateful for! I´m very grateful to be a missionary and to be serving the Lord in Brazil. I´m grateful for the knowledge that Jesus Christ lives, that He is my Savior, and that He loves and knows me. I´m grateful that we are members of the restored church of Jesus Christ and that we have a prophet to lead us and guide us. I´m very grateful that I have a loving family at home...and for the knowledge that we´re going to be together forever! :) We are so blessed.
Love you!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

As famílias poderão ser eternas! Baptism of a family!

Hello dear family!

It is another beautiful Tuesday afternoon here in Timbaúva! This week was a fast one...filled with new investigators, lessons, much walking, and a looooot of hot weather. Summer is arriving! :)

My favorite part of the week was, of course, Sunday afternoon when Idimir and Eliane and their two sons Fladimir and Eduardo were baptized. The whole family together! It was so wonderful to see them all standing together dressed in white. The first time in my life that I have seen an entire family baptized together! There is always a special spirit with every baptism....but seeing a family together was extra wonderful! Heavenly Father really does love families :) Haha...The two boys, Fladimir and Eduardo are so great! They love the gospel, are reading the Book of Mormon, and already talking about the day when they will be missionaries! Sister Inhuma and I took pictures of them in the white baptism clothes and wearing our missionary name tags :) Eliane looked especially happy....and as she watched her two sons be baptized it seemed like she was glowing! And Idimir...what a great, strong, faithful father...It was his testimony of the gospel that helped the rest of his family want to be baptized too.... Ah, I love this family so much and I feel so blessed to have been one of the missionaries to help teach them! There really is no greater feeling.... :)

Tonight we´re going to have another Noite Familiar with Rose! Out of all the people here in Timbaúva, I think I feel the closest to Rose....she is sooo amazing. Sweet and loving and so Christ-like....

She was taught by the sisters has been going to church for almost a year already...Marlon, her 13 year old son has already been baptized and Natália her 7 year old daughter will be when she turns 8 in January. But since Rose is not legally married, and her "husband" doesn´t want to get married, she hasn´t been able to be baptized herself. I think it is hard for her to watch her children be baptized and to still be waiting for the day when she will be able to be baptized. Rose is so sweet and good and has so much faith and trust in Heavenly Father....I know that one day she will receive all the blessings she is desiring right now... Heavenly Father loves each one of us and is so good and kind...we just need to be patient and trust in Him :) Her husband, Márcio, is not a bad person.....he is actually very very awesome! haha, I´m not sure how to describe him. At first I was really intimidated by him because he is very gruff and sarcastic...and he´s super smart too! But after getting to know him it´s easy to see that behind the grumpiness he is very very sweet. He just doesn´t like being pressured into things and he is very very stubborn...for a long time he was very against the church and he even refused to let the sisters in his home. But I can definitely see that the Lord is slowly softening his heart....the family nights we have with them are always wonderful and he participates a lot too. The members in the ward are also heling a lot (because everyone loves Rose!) to make friendships with him. When the ward had a Noite de Sorvete last Friday (Ice Cream Night!) I was super surprised and very happy to see Máricio walk in the chapel door! Slowly but surely he's progressing.... :)

Sister Inhuma and I also found a new family that I´m very excited about....First of all, because the dad´s name is Greg! :D Just like you, Dad! Well...actually it´s spelled Grig...but it sounds the same :) Greg and Rosângela are the parents of 3 beautiful daughters...Brenda (11), Pietra (2), and Isadora (18 days!!) We had a wonderful first lesson with them and I´m excited to go back this week.

There is a lot of joy and love in their home....a lot of it, I´m sure, because of the brand new baby in the home :) Isadora is so tiny! Looking into her pure eyes it seems like you can feel Heavenly Father´s love....

Well, I am glad that you are all well and happy....You are always in my prayers! Each and every one of you... Stay safe and choose to be happy! Remember...God does not dwell in sorrow or melancholy, but in light and happiness! And as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father, we have every reason to be happy! Life is meant to be loved!!! :) I love you all!

Love, Sister Jamie Gee

How great shall be your joy!

Dear family!

Hello from Montenegro! The biggest news of the week.....I have a new companion! Sister Inhuma from Recife....well, actually she´s from Bahia, but her family moved to Recife 4 years ago. I had heard a lot before about Bahians. Every one talks about their calm, easy-going way of life....and it´s so true with Sister Inhuma! I could tell after our very first conversation....calm and peaceful and gentle. The way she walks the way she talks.... Haha...it´s almost the exact opposite of Sister Gibson who was always full of energy and loud and fuuuun!! It´s definitely been different....but so good too. Sister Inhuma has a gift for loving people and the members here are already noticing and loving her. I love hearing her bear testimony in her calm, relaxing voice in every lesson....she really brings the Spirit! I can already tell that I´m going to love being her companion.

So, I forgot to tell you before that when we have transfers (every 6 weeks) our P-day is on a Monday instead of a Tuesday....that way the missionaries that are being transferred have time to pack and clean the apartment I suppose. Sorry for forgetting to tell you earlier! But I guess it didn´t really matter...because I wrote 2 long emails last week and couldn´t get either one to send! I´ll have to sum up the last 2 weeks in this email.....:)

I had a wonderful last week in the trio with Sister Gibson and Sister Cidre! Sister Gibson was getting very excited and anxious to be heading home...but she kept working hard right up to the very end. We marked 6 baptisms in her last week! Fernanda (14) and Indiara (15) (sisters of Luana ...we´ve been teaching them for the last few weeks) and Idimir (before I spelled it as Edemir...but I was wrong :) Eleane and their two sons Fladimir (12) and Eduardo (8)! It was a good last week for Sister Gibson to end her mission with. The entire week was filled with farewells and parties. Mmmmm....Saturday we had a churrasco with the bishop as a farewell for Sister Gibson....and it was Ammmmaazing!! I have had many many churrascos here...but none even come close in comparison! It was so great....chicken heart, liver, beef, pork ribs, cow heart, sausage.... Imagine Tucanos, but a million times better! And with soooo much meat. I think Jared should serve his mission here...I´m pretty sure he would like it a lot :)

Fernanda and Indiara were baptized on Sunday and I think it was the most beautiful baptism I had ever seen. We´ve been teaching them for about a month and I love them both so much. Fernanda is quiet and gentle and I´ve never met anyone so pure and good! She has been excited about her baptism every since we challenged her to be baptized......Indiara was a little more hesitant though. Indiara really likes going to church and to the activities (mostly because of the amazing young women that we have in our ward that are so loving! We as members, can make a huuuge difference in missionary work!!) but I could tell that she seemed a little unsure about being baptized. On Friday we were teaching them one last time before being interviewed by the elders.....and I was amazed with the difference in Indiara! She was so happy and she had a light in her eyes....literally glowing! I asked her if she was ready to be baptized...and she burst into a smile when she said yes. Then she bore a sweet and powerful testimony of the answer that she had received to her prayer the night before when she was praying to know if being baptized was the right thing to do. She said that for the first time in her life she felt the Holy Ghost answering...and she felt joy and light and knew that it was an answer from God! :) I think that I felt more happiness in that moment than I have felt during my entire mission....it is so wonderful to know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He hears every prayer! I know He really does!

It was really a beautiful baptism....I could feel Heavenly Father´s love for them so strongly and both Indiara and Fernanda were shining with happiness!! And almost the entire ward was there!....Fernanda and Indiara are very loved by all the members here. Roselei, their mother, came to watch the baptism and I could tell that she was very touched. We´re good friends from all the visits, and as she was leaving she gave me a hug and told me that she had decided she was going to start coming to church on Sundays with her daughters :) :) :)

What a good good week...and this week we´re going to be busy with 6 more baptisms! On Friday two 8 year old girls, Melody (member) and her friend that always goes to church with her, Maria Luisa. And Sunday afternoon will be the baptisms of Idimir´s family....the entire family together!! I´m very excited.

We also started teaching a new family this week....Márcia, the mother, Luana (14), and Bianca (6). Their husband/father died unexpectedly earlier this month from a heart attack. I really love this family...they have so much faith and love. Márcia is always kind and receptive when we visit...but you can see a lot of sadness in her eyes still, even when she´s smiling. It makes me hurt inside to think about how sad and lonely she is. I really want to help them....I know that the love of Jesus Christ can heal all pain and sadness.

Wow....I can´t believe all the fun things that you are doing at home. I am very very happy to hear that you are keep busy and doing so many wonderful things. I miss you all very much, and I am very happy to be serving the Lord here in Brazil. I am learning new things every day....most of all I am gaining a stronger and stronger testimony of the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us. He is so good and kind and He loves us more than we know :) I love seeing the changes in people´s lives and eyes when they being to realize that...

Life is wonderful!
Keep smiling and serving and being an example to everyone you meet!
I love you all!!! Love, Sister Jamie Gee

E-mail troubles; Staying in Timbaúva for another 6 weeks; Picture included!

I wrote a long and wonderful email today....twice! And both times it got deleted....the first time because the power went out and the second time because of some internet problem...who knows...
So next week I will tell you all about this last week....it was wonderful, just so you know :) Tell the family that I love them and miss them!!
Love you!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
PS....transfers are tomorrow!!! Annnnnd....I´m staying in Timbaúva for another 6 weeks!! I´m very very very happy about that. And excited to meet my new companion! :) I hope it´s a Brazilian!!!!
Love you!
Bye!