Olá família!
Tudo bem? How are you all doing?
I´m doing great and loving life in Santa Cruz do Sul!
We got an amazing reference this week from a family in the ward...Izalde and Luciano and their 2 year old daughter, Yasmin. What a perfect family! Just talking to them you can see how much they love each other and that they are just good good people. João, the member that gave us the reference, works all week long with Luciano in Porto Alegre and had been noticing João read the Book of Mormon each night before going to sleep. He started to ask questions and João started to explain about the church and lent him his Book of Mormon to read for himself.....and the rest is history! By the time we met them to teach the first lesson, both Luciano and Izalde had already read all about Joseph Smith and the first vision and a good part of the Book of Mormon and were ready with a lot of questions. Eleitos!! They are amazing and I really liked them...they just already feel like a mormon family :)
The rest of the week was great too...I´ve really loved working in Santa Cruz do Sul. During testimony meeting on Sunday I sat listening to the testimonies of the members and feeling so happy and at home. The members in this branch are so loving and wonderful. They really help with our investigators too...making them feel welcome at church and inviting them to their homes, they´re amazing! This Saturday we´re planning a ward talent show to help some of our investigators get to know more of the members. I think that Sister Hughes and I are going to play "Querência Amada"... It should be great!
Oh and on Sunday Jô came to church again...and brought her brother, Carlos, and his 2 young daughters with her! It´s been over a year since Carlos has been to church, but I could tell he was super happy to be there and feeling and remembering that same familiar Spirit that the gospel brings to our lives. The whole family is starting to change! Baptista, Jô´s husband, wasn´t at church again...but I´m sure he´s feeling the difference in his home too. Jô said that they´ve started reading the Book of Mormon as a family again. :) I love this family so much! On Saturday we spent the afternoon sandpapering and painting their kitchen and bathroom with Jô and Priscila. It was super fun!
Well, got to go! See you all in just a few weeks! Yikes!! Crazy...I´m not sure what I´m feeling. I´m happy and sad and nervous all at the same time :S But I know one thing for sure....I´m soooo excited to see you all again!!!! Mom, Dad, Ryan, Melissa, Jared, Kyle, Megan and Justin and Rawley.....I LOVE YOU!!!!
Have a great week!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Preta and her 5 sons; Kauany and Jô; The faith of a 9 year old girl;
Alô Família!
How are all of you doing? It sounds like your Thanksgiving was wonderful!
Life is great for me!
It was nice to get back into the normal working routine after spending almost the entire week busy with the chapel open house. We have so many great people we are teaching right now...
I can´t remember if I told you about the amazing family we found when we were handing out invitations to all of the inactive members in Santa Cruz. Preta lives with her 5 sons (ages 12, 18, 19, 21 and 23) and 3 year old daughter Victória. She was baptized with her entire family over 10 years ago...so the oldest 4 sons were all baptized when they were young children and now they´re all missionary age! I really really liked her family...though it was SUPER hard to find their house! We had to walk miles on the busy freeway with nothing but thick jungle on both sides of the road until we finally found their home. We even walked right past a HUGE iguana...seriously, it was as big as Rawley!! It was crazy! And Sister Fernandes almost got ran over by a semi-truck....it was centimeters away!! I´ve never screamed so loud in my life! So it´s a good thing that we are being protected as missionaries...and I´m pretty sure that next time we go back we´re going to get a ride with a member :)
But in the end it was worth the long walk. Preta´s sons are now going to another church, the Igreja Quadrangular, but they seemed really happy that we had found them and liked our visit. They all promised to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I really liked Alex´s comment (the 21 year old son) when we asked him if he would pray about the Book of Mormon. He said "I know that the Bible is true because I have read and prayed about it and felt God tell my heart that it is His word...and I´ve never done that yet with the Book of Mormon. But it makes sense that if it were true He would let me know the same way!" He seemed really interested and excited to read!
And the best lesson of the week was with Kauany, the 9 year old girl that we have been preparing for her baptism, and her mother, Jô. We have been visiting them for the last 6 weeks, and the difference that I have felt and seen in their home is amazing! Especially in Jô. When we first starting visiting Kauany, Jô seemed very closed off with us. She told us that Kauany could be baptized if she wanted too ..but she didn´t seem to care much one way or the other, and didn´t seem very supportive or excited about the idea. But during these weeks that we have been visiting Kauany and teaching her about baptism and the plan of salvation and the restoration of the gospel...I´ve literally seen Jô change. These are all things that they know and have heard many times before...but it is so true the Spirit is powerful and touches and changes hearts. This week we were talking about the Book of Mormon and how daily studying can bless and guide our lives. The Spirit was very strong as we all shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and I could tell that Jô was feeling it too. The scripture Jacob 4:3-4 came into my mind...I wasn't sure why. It wasn't the scripture that we had planned to use for the lesson and I not one that I use very often to teach about the importance of the Book of Mormon. But I opened it up and asked Jô to read for us.
3. Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.
4. For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us."
Jô didn´t even finish reading before she starting crying. She told us that she knows that she has been regarding the Book of Mormon with "contempt" because she knows that it is true...she has always known that it is true, but hasn´t even picked it up to read in so long. She told us that it has been more than a year since she has been to church and that she has been feeling the lack of the Spirit in her life and in her family, and that she wanted to do whatever it takes to get her family back to where they used to be. We promised her that Heavenly Father loves her and would be right beside her to help her every step of the way.
On Sunday when we walked into the chapel, Jô and Kauany where the first people that I saw, sitting quietly on a bench and waiting for sacrament meeting to start. I´m not sure I felt happier to see someone at church during my entire mission! :) I could tell that Kauany was bursting with happiness to have her mom at church with her too! She had told me before that it was the thing that she wanted most in the whole world. :)
After church we went back to Vera Cruz to visit them and Jô was so happy and smiling and full of light...completely different than how she usually is! She told us when we were leaving that she had already talked to President Walter and to her husband and that Kauany would be baptized in January...by her dad!! :D I´m so happy! Kauany´s dad, Baptista, (I know...what a perfect name) hasn´t been able to participate in any of our lessons because he works until 10 pm each night...but I know that Jô decision and faith is going to help him follow her example and soon soon the whole family is going to be active in the church again! And Jô has a huge family...a lot of brothers and sisters who also are inactive members. Who knows if this isn´t going to help them all come back to church?? All because of the faith of a 9 year old girl! I love Kauany!!
Oh!!! and guess who else was at church on Sunday!! Another huge and happy surprise. :) Alex!!!! Remember Alex? From Montenegro! A year and a half ago! Alex was moving back to Santa Maria from Montenegro for the holidays and the bus just happens to pass right through Santa Cruz do Sul! It was so great to see him again and especially to see that his testimony is as strong as ever. What a perfect Sunday!
Well family, got to go! Life is wonderful! Thanks for everything :) I love you all so much!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
How are all of you doing? It sounds like your Thanksgiving was wonderful!
Life is great for me!
It was nice to get back into the normal working routine after spending almost the entire week busy with the chapel open house. We have so many great people we are teaching right now...
I can´t remember if I told you about the amazing family we found when we were handing out invitations to all of the inactive members in Santa Cruz. Preta lives with her 5 sons (ages 12, 18, 19, 21 and 23) and 3 year old daughter Victória. She was baptized with her entire family over 10 years ago...so the oldest 4 sons were all baptized when they were young children and now they´re all missionary age! I really really liked her family...though it was SUPER hard to find their house! We had to walk miles on the busy freeway with nothing but thick jungle on both sides of the road until we finally found their home. We even walked right past a HUGE iguana...seriously, it was as big as Rawley!! It was crazy! And Sister Fernandes almost got ran over by a semi-truck....it was centimeters away!! I´ve never screamed so loud in my life! So it´s a good thing that we are being protected as missionaries...and I´m pretty sure that next time we go back we´re going to get a ride with a member :)
But in the end it was worth the long walk. Preta´s sons are now going to another church, the Igreja Quadrangular, but they seemed really happy that we had found them and liked our visit. They all promised to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I really liked Alex´s comment (the 21 year old son) when we asked him if he would pray about the Book of Mormon. He said "I know that the Bible is true because I have read and prayed about it and felt God tell my heart that it is His word...and I´ve never done that yet with the Book of Mormon. But it makes sense that if it were true He would let me know the same way!" He seemed really interested and excited to read!
And the best lesson of the week was with Kauany, the 9 year old girl that we have been preparing for her baptism, and her mother, Jô. We have been visiting them for the last 6 weeks, and the difference that I have felt and seen in their home is amazing! Especially in Jô. When we first starting visiting Kauany, Jô seemed very closed off with us. She told us that Kauany could be baptized if she wanted too ..but she didn´t seem to care much one way or the other, and didn´t seem very supportive or excited about the idea. But during these weeks that we have been visiting Kauany and teaching her about baptism and the plan of salvation and the restoration of the gospel...I´ve literally seen Jô change. These are all things that they know and have heard many times before...but it is so true the Spirit is powerful and touches and changes hearts. This week we were talking about the Book of Mormon and how daily studying can bless and guide our lives. The Spirit was very strong as we all shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and I could tell that Jô was feeling it too. The scripture Jacob 4:3-4 came into my mind...I wasn't sure why. It wasn't the scripture that we had planned to use for the lesson and I not one that I use very often to teach about the importance of the Book of Mormon. But I opened it up and asked Jô to read for us.
3. Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.
4. For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us."
Jô didn´t even finish reading before she starting crying. She told us that she knows that she has been regarding the Book of Mormon with "contempt" because she knows that it is true...she has always known that it is true, but hasn´t even picked it up to read in so long. She told us that it has been more than a year since she has been to church and that she has been feeling the lack of the Spirit in her life and in her family, and that she wanted to do whatever it takes to get her family back to where they used to be. We promised her that Heavenly Father loves her and would be right beside her to help her every step of the way.
On Sunday when we walked into the chapel, Jô and Kauany where the first people that I saw, sitting quietly on a bench and waiting for sacrament meeting to start. I´m not sure I felt happier to see someone at church during my entire mission! :) I could tell that Kauany was bursting with happiness to have her mom at church with her too! She had told me before that it was the thing that she wanted most in the whole world. :)
After church we went back to Vera Cruz to visit them and Jô was so happy and smiling and full of light...completely different than how she usually is! She told us when we were leaving that she had already talked to President Walter and to her husband and that Kauany would be baptized in January...by her dad!! :D I´m so happy! Kauany´s dad, Baptista, (I know...what a perfect name) hasn´t been able to participate in any of our lessons because he works until 10 pm each night...but I know that Jô decision and faith is going to help him follow her example and soon soon the whole family is going to be active in the church again! And Jô has a huge family...a lot of brothers and sisters who also are inactive members. Who knows if this isn´t going to help them all come back to church?? All because of the faith of a 9 year old girl! I love Kauany!!
Oh!!! and guess who else was at church on Sunday!! Another huge and happy surprise. :) Alex!!!! Remember Alex? From Montenegro! A year and a half ago! Alex was moving back to Santa Maria from Montenegro for the holidays and the bus just happens to pass right through Santa Cruz do Sul! It was so great to see him again and especially to see that his testimony is as strong as ever. What a perfect Sunday!
Well family, got to go! Life is wonderful! Thanks for everything :) I love you all so much!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Reunions with Rio Pardo members; Heavenly Father literally guides this work
Oí querida família!
Happy Thanksgiving this Thursday!! Sister Hughes already promised to make us apple pie (mmmm!) on Thursday, so we´ll be celebrating Thanksgiving here in Santa Cruz do Sul too :)
This week was Wonderful and super busy! We stayed all day and evening at the chapel from Wednesday through Saturday helping with cultural night, family history seminars and the chapel open house!
My favorite night was the Noite dos Autoridades...I was surprised by how many people came that night...city government officials and other very important people, most of which had never heard of the church before. The members that were there to help guide the tours and explain the church programs all dressed up in semi-formals and it was really xique! The night started out with a brief guided tour of the new chapel. We waited with the elders in the baptismal room to show the font (filled with water) and explain about missionary work and our purpose to help people learn more about the gospel and prepare for baptism. After the tour, everyone was guided into the chapel and Presidente Walter gave a fireside about the basic beliefs of the church and some of the programs. It was perfect...I really thought that the way the members explained the our beliefs in a clear and simple and loving way was so perfect! The choir sang a few hymns (I played the piano) and then everyone gathered to socialize and eat cuca. A perfect perfect night!
The rest of the week was great too. The sisters from Rio Pardo came to help wait for the anticipated crowd for the general open house Thursday and Friday....but in the end a lot less people came than we had hoped for. Almost all of the people that came to tour the chapel were friends of family of members and only a few that came because of the invitation in the mailbox. That was a little disappointing after 3 days of delivering invitations with all the youth in the ward to every house in the city! But it´s alright, it´s better to teach friends and family of members because they already have a strong support in the church. And this week we are already seeing that the effort was still very worthwhile...every single person that we talk to or meet on the street stop us and tell us "I saw your church on the television!" or on the newspaper or on the radio. It´s great! In just one week the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went from being and unknown church to a religion that every single person has heard of! That, in itself, is a huge step!
Oh, and I have a great story about one of those few that came to the open house just because he had found the invitation in his mailbox. His name is José and he came to the open house super excited to meet us and to let us know that he had been baptized years ago when he was 17 in Cachoeira (a close-by city). He told us that he wanted to start attending church again and that he was super happy to . So, I wrote his name and address down and promised that we would visit. Yesterday, during weekly planning, we were deciding who we could visit and I thought in him, José, and kep thinking also about a 13 year old girl, Letícia that we had contacted and seemed interested in learning more about the gospel. As I scanned through my planner to find where I had written down their names, I suddenly realized that they had both given me the same address! I´ve seent he Lord´s hand in my mission enough to know that there are no such thing as coincidences! Heavenly Father literally guides this work...I know that! So quickly, we replanned our day to be sure to visit that family as soon as possible! What a loving and wonderful and receptive family...as soon as we knocked on their door, they received us like we were royal guests that they had been waiting for a long time to receive! José told us that he and Letícia and his youngest daughter, Victória are going to be sure to be there this Sunday. His wife, Inés, works 3 Sundays a month, but was super loving and excited to hear about the church too. She told us that every Sunday that she has off she´ll be there with her family. What an amazing family!! I loved them!
Saturday and Sunday were also amazing days for me. The whole district was invited to participate in the chapel dedication and in the district conference....yup, that means the branch from Rio Pardo too! It was so great to see everyone again...I couldn´t stop jumping up and down and hugging them over and over again. It was like being at home again! The members in Rio Pardo really feel like family to me :) Elisa and Elaine and Fernanda and I could go on and on and on. I´m lucky to have stayed so close that I got to see them all again...not many missionaries get that chance! I was sad that Carlos and Kátia didn´t come...I really really want to see them again before I go home in December!
Oh, and I got to lead the men´s choir on Sunday....it turned out really nicely! Irmão Gastão sent me a video of one of the rehearsals :) Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHrrleZYYc8
I love you all so much!!! Have a wonderful week and a happy thanksgiving!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Happy Thanksgiving this Thursday!! Sister Hughes already promised to make us apple pie (mmmm!) on Thursday, so we´ll be celebrating Thanksgiving here in Santa Cruz do Sul too :)
This week was Wonderful and super busy! We stayed all day and evening at the chapel from Wednesday through Saturday helping with cultural night, family history seminars and the chapel open house!
My favorite night was the Noite dos Autoridades...I was surprised by how many people came that night...city government officials and other very important people, most of which had never heard of the church before. The members that were there to help guide the tours and explain the church programs all dressed up in semi-formals and it was really xique! The night started out with a brief guided tour of the new chapel. We waited with the elders in the baptismal room to show the font (filled with water) and explain about missionary work and our purpose to help people learn more about the gospel and prepare for baptism. After the tour, everyone was guided into the chapel and Presidente Walter gave a fireside about the basic beliefs of the church and some of the programs. It was perfect...I really thought that the way the members explained the our beliefs in a clear and simple and loving way was so perfect! The choir sang a few hymns (I played the piano) and then everyone gathered to socialize and eat cuca. A perfect perfect night!
The rest of the week was great too. The sisters from Rio Pardo came to help wait for the anticipated crowd for the general open house Thursday and Friday....but in the end a lot less people came than we had hoped for. Almost all of the people that came to tour the chapel were friends of family of members and only a few that came because of the invitation in the mailbox. That was a little disappointing after 3 days of delivering invitations with all the youth in the ward to every house in the city! But it´s alright, it´s better to teach friends and family of members because they already have a strong support in the church. And this week we are already seeing that the effort was still very worthwhile...every single person that we talk to or meet on the street stop us and tell us "I saw your church on the television!" or on the newspaper or on the radio. It´s great! In just one week the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went from being and unknown church to a religion that every single person has heard of! That, in itself, is a huge step!
Oh, and I have a great story about one of those few that came to the open house just because he had found the invitation in his mailbox. His name is José and he came to the open house super excited to meet us and to let us know that he had been baptized years ago when he was 17 in Cachoeira (a close-by city). He told us that he wanted to start attending church again and that he was super happy to . So, I wrote his name and address down and promised that we would visit. Yesterday, during weekly planning, we were deciding who we could visit and I thought in him, José, and kep thinking also about a 13 year old girl, Letícia that we had contacted and seemed interested in learning more about the gospel. As I scanned through my planner to find where I had written down their names, I suddenly realized that they had both given me the same address! I´ve seent he Lord´s hand in my mission enough to know that there are no such thing as coincidences! Heavenly Father literally guides this work...I know that! So quickly, we replanned our day to be sure to visit that family as soon as possible! What a loving and wonderful and receptive family...as soon as we knocked on their door, they received us like we were royal guests that they had been waiting for a long time to receive! José told us that he and Letícia and his youngest daughter, Victória are going to be sure to be there this Sunday. His wife, Inés, works 3 Sundays a month, but was super loving and excited to hear about the church too. She told us that every Sunday that she has off she´ll be there with her family. What an amazing family!! I loved them!
Saturday and Sunday were also amazing days for me. The whole district was invited to participate in the chapel dedication and in the district conference....yup, that means the branch from Rio Pardo too! It was so great to see everyone again...I couldn´t stop jumping up and down and hugging them over and over again. It was like being at home again! The members in Rio Pardo really feel like family to me :) Elisa and Elaine and Fernanda and I could go on and on and on. I´m lucky to have stayed so close that I got to see them all again...not many missionaries get that chance! I was sad that Carlos and Kátia didn´t come...I really really want to see them again before I go home in December!
Oh, and I got to lead the men´s choir on Sunday....it turned out really nicely! Irmão Gastão sent me a video of one of the rehearsals :) Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHrrleZYYc8
I love you all so much!!! Have a wonderful week and a happy thanksgiving!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Another trio; Chapel open house; Geny teaching Marlita
OÍ FAMÍLIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How are you all?? Life is fabulous and I´m doing great! And guess what else.....we´re in another trio here in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! :D Yay! This seems to be the area of trios...which is kind of funny because of all the apartments that I have seen I´m pretty sure this one is the smallest. But I LOVE being in a trio...so it´s worth it. Sister Paige Hughes from North Carolina came to join Sister Fernandes and me last Tuesday...and we´ve been having lots of fun ever since :)
This week has been crazy busy, but so good! Everyone here is busy getting ready for the chapel open house and dedication. I told you before that the branch president planned to deliver invitations to every house in Santa Cruz in Vera Cruz, right? Well...I thought it was a wonderful idea, I just didn´t realize how much work it would be! We have been delivering invitations with the elders from the other branch here in Santa Cruz and all of the youth from both branches ever since early Saturday morning...just stopping for lunch breaks at the chapel (provided by the Relief Society)....all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And we still have a lot of houses to visit! But I´m pretty sure that tonight we are going to finish up the rest of the invitations... I hope so anyways, because tomorrow is going to be the first night of the open house! Finally, it´s here! :D And everyone is excited!
Tomorrow night is going to be the Noite dos Autoridades, for just the personally invitated city officials and business leaders, and then the chapel will be open to the public all day Thursday and Friday. Members from each organization (young men´s and woman´s, primary, helping hands, relief society, family history...etc...) are going to wait in different class rooms for the people who come to tour the new chapel. We´re going to explain about baptism in the room with the baptismal font with the sisters from Rio Pardo and the elders from the Ramo Santa Cruz. At the end of the tour a pair of missionaries will also be waiting at the door to invite the guests to learn more about the gospel and to write down names and addresses. It´s going to be great!
What an amazing missionary opportunity this is going to be...the entire city is having the chance to hear about the gospel! I was kind of disappointed this week by how much time the inviations took from our time with our investigators....but I know that in the end it´s going to be worth it and all this effort is going to result in a lot of golden references! And we still had some great teaching experiences this week....my favorite was with Geny. She is super happy and still has that "new convert fire". We had a lesson with her about missionary work and invited her to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help her think of a friend that she could share the gospel with. We left her with a Book of Mormon to dedicate and a few days later we went with Geny to deliver the book to her friend, Marlita.
What an amazing lesson! Marlita has known about the church for years...her daughter and brother were even baptized years ago...but she had always refused to receive the missionaries in her own home or to visit the church herself. She is a member of the Igreja Assembleia de Deus and even worked as an "obreira" for years (the ones who peform the blessings of healing) and always heard terrible lies about the "Mormon Church" and the Book of Mormon from her church leaders....so she never opened her heart to learn more. But lately, Marlita has been having difficulties and struggling with depression that left her softened and humble...so when Geny told her about her recent baptism and the new joy and peace that she had found in the gospel and asked if she could bring us to meet her, Marlita accepted.
I loved the lesson with Marlita! Geny gave her the Book of Mormon that she had dedicated and bore her testimony. It was powerful! We shared a message about the Book of Mormon and promised her the peace that reading this testament of Jesus Christ brings to our lives...and Marlita seemed to really believe us and to desire that peace. It reminded me of Jacob 2: 8 "And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." Marlita was full of questions...we could barely answer one and she was already asking another! Why did there have to be another book besides the Bible? Why were we the only church that had this "other testament" from God? Who were these prophets that had written the Book of Mormon and where had they come from? Why had the pastors from her church always warned against the "mormon church" and it´s teachings? A million questions! But I could tell that she was asking, not to doubt or argue, but really desiring to understand and to know more. The Spirit was very strong and when Marlita promised to read and pray it was obvious that her heart was humble and she was sincere. It was perfect! And Geny was great...she bore powerful testimony in the perfect moments. I love new converts!!!
So...as you can see, life is great here in Santa Cruz do Sul and I am very very happy! And I´ve got to go! Lots more work to do! Today is a national holiday in Brazil...A Dia da Proclamação da República....so it´s going to be a perfect day to find people at home.
Thanks for everything you do! I love you all!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
How are you all?? Life is fabulous and I´m doing great! And guess what else.....we´re in another trio here in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! :D Yay! This seems to be the area of trios...which is kind of funny because of all the apartments that I have seen I´m pretty sure this one is the smallest. But I LOVE being in a trio...so it´s worth it. Sister Paige Hughes from North Carolina came to join Sister Fernandes and me last Tuesday...and we´ve been having lots of fun ever since :)
This week has been crazy busy, but so good! Everyone here is busy getting ready for the chapel open house and dedication. I told you before that the branch president planned to deliver invitations to every house in Santa Cruz in Vera Cruz, right? Well...I thought it was a wonderful idea, I just didn´t realize how much work it would be! We have been delivering invitations with the elders from the other branch here in Santa Cruz and all of the youth from both branches ever since early Saturday morning...just stopping for lunch breaks at the chapel (provided by the Relief Society)....all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And we still have a lot of houses to visit! But I´m pretty sure that tonight we are going to finish up the rest of the invitations... I hope so anyways, because tomorrow is going to be the first night of the open house! Finally, it´s here! :D And everyone is excited!
Tomorrow night is going to be the Noite dos Autoridades, for just the personally invitated city officials and business leaders, and then the chapel will be open to the public all day Thursday and Friday. Members from each organization (young men´s and woman´s, primary, helping hands, relief society, family history...etc...) are going to wait in different class rooms for the people who come to tour the new chapel. We´re going to explain about baptism in the room with the baptismal font with the sisters from Rio Pardo and the elders from the Ramo Santa Cruz. At the end of the tour a pair of missionaries will also be waiting at the door to invite the guests to learn more about the gospel and to write down names and addresses. It´s going to be great!
What an amazing missionary opportunity this is going to be...the entire city is having the chance to hear about the gospel! I was kind of disappointed this week by how much time the inviations took from our time with our investigators....but I know that in the end it´s going to be worth it and all this effort is going to result in a lot of golden references! And we still had some great teaching experiences this week....my favorite was with Geny. She is super happy and still has that "new convert fire". We had a lesson with her about missionary work and invited her to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help her think of a friend that she could share the gospel with. We left her with a Book of Mormon to dedicate and a few days later we went with Geny to deliver the book to her friend, Marlita.
What an amazing lesson! Marlita has known about the church for years...her daughter and brother were even baptized years ago...but she had always refused to receive the missionaries in her own home or to visit the church herself. She is a member of the Igreja Assembleia de Deus and even worked as an "obreira" for years (the ones who peform the blessings of healing) and always heard terrible lies about the "Mormon Church" and the Book of Mormon from her church leaders....so she never opened her heart to learn more. But lately, Marlita has been having difficulties and struggling with depression that left her softened and humble...so when Geny told her about her recent baptism and the new joy and peace that she had found in the gospel and asked if she could bring us to meet her, Marlita accepted.
I loved the lesson with Marlita! Geny gave her the Book of Mormon that she had dedicated and bore her testimony. It was powerful! We shared a message about the Book of Mormon and promised her the peace that reading this testament of Jesus Christ brings to our lives...and Marlita seemed to really believe us and to desire that peace. It reminded me of Jacob 2: 8 "And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." Marlita was full of questions...we could barely answer one and she was already asking another! Why did there have to be another book besides the Bible? Why were we the only church that had this "other testament" from God? Who were these prophets that had written the Book of Mormon and where had they come from? Why had the pastors from her church always warned against the "mormon church" and it´s teachings? A million questions! But I could tell that she was asking, not to doubt or argue, but really desiring to understand and to know more. The Spirit was very strong and when Marlita promised to read and pray it was obvious that her heart was humble and she was sincere. It was perfect! And Geny was great...she bore powerful testimony in the perfect moments. I love new converts!!!
So...as you can see, life is great here in Santa Cruz do Sul and I am very very happy! And I´ve got to go! Lots more work to do! Today is a national holiday in Brazil...A Dia da Proclamação da República....so it´s going to be a perfect day to find people at home.
Thanks for everything you do! I love you all!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Monday, November 7, 2011
New chapel is ready; Teaching a group of young men
Oí querida família!
How are all of you doing?
This was another great week in Santa Cruz do Sul. The best news came this morning when the zone leaders called with the transfers this morning. Sister Fernandes and I are both staying here in Santa Cruz do Sul! : D I´m suuuuper happy to be staying another transfer here! My last transfer....wow, that is hard to believe. But I know that there is still a lot to do here in Santa Cruz do Sul....a lot more people to meet and love and a lot more miracles to see! This is going to be a great transfer and Sister Fernandes and I are excited!!
The truth is....the whole district here is excited! The new chapel is finally ready to be dedicated and next week we´re going to have an open house and night of celebration and the whole city is going to be invited! This last Saturday and Sunday we went with the members to personally invite all of the inactive members in Santa Cruz and Vera Cruz.....and next week we´re going to deliver invitations to every single house in both cities! It´s really great to see the excitement of the members and to see them feel the joy of sharing the gospel. We found a lot of families of members that haven´t been to church for years...and some seemed really happy that we had found them and anxious to return to church.
And last Wednesday was Dia dos Mortos, so Sister Fernandes and I decided to spend an hour in the cemetery. We brought pamphlets of the Plan of Salvation and talked to people about eternal families and about Heavenly Father´s perfect love and helped them clean and put flowers on the tombstones of their family members and friends. It was really great and we met a lot of nice people that seemed interested in learning more...but what was really great was the wonderful feeling to share the hope of the gospel with people who were missing their loved ones.
We also had a great lesson with Luíza again! She´s the 12-year old girl that we´ve been teaching who is best friends with Emília, a young woman in the branch. By the way, Luíza came to church for the first time yesterday! But the Young Women´s class was canceled for a meeting with the whole branch about the open house invitations.....not exactly the most exciting meeting. I think she was tired after the first hour and told us that she had to leave :( Oh well....I´m sure she´ll visit again to see that it´s not usually like that! We´re planning a Ward Talent Show because she really loves singing and really really loves performing. It will be a good way for her to really get to know the rest of the youth in the ward. This last week we went to visit Luiza and found her 17 year old brother, Ezekiel, at home. He knew that we had been teaching Luíza and had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and the church. Ezekiel was the only one at home...so we decided to sit in the front lawn to explain to him about the Book of Mormon and answer his questions. Luíza and Ezekial live in a neighborhood that I had always been a little nervous to visit....there are always a group of young men, covered in tattoos and piercings, that sit on the side of the road all day long. Usually we just walk by quickly without letting them call to us or make comments, which is pretty common here. But this day, as we were talking to Ezekiel on his front lawn, one by one those same young men, all his friends and cousins, came over and sat down next to us to hear the lesson. Soon we had 6 or 7 all gathered around us and hearing us bear our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the restored church of Jesus Christ...and all of them promised to read and pray to know if it was true. :D I never imagined that one day I´d be teaching all those young men that we had been scared of before! It was really great and one of those mission moments that I´m always going to remember!
Well family, I hope you´re all doing well and are very happy!
Life is great and I love you all!
Thanks for everything!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
How are all of you doing?
This was another great week in Santa Cruz do Sul. The best news came this morning when the zone leaders called with the transfers this morning. Sister Fernandes and I are both staying here in Santa Cruz do Sul! : D I´m suuuuper happy to be staying another transfer here! My last transfer....wow, that is hard to believe. But I know that there is still a lot to do here in Santa Cruz do Sul....a lot more people to meet and love and a lot more miracles to see! This is going to be a great transfer and Sister Fernandes and I are excited!!
The truth is....the whole district here is excited! The new chapel is finally ready to be dedicated and next week we´re going to have an open house and night of celebration and the whole city is going to be invited! This last Saturday and Sunday we went with the members to personally invite all of the inactive members in Santa Cruz and Vera Cruz.....and next week we´re going to deliver invitations to every single house in both cities! It´s really great to see the excitement of the members and to see them feel the joy of sharing the gospel. We found a lot of families of members that haven´t been to church for years...and some seemed really happy that we had found them and anxious to return to church.
And last Wednesday was Dia dos Mortos, so Sister Fernandes and I decided to spend an hour in the cemetery. We brought pamphlets of the Plan of Salvation and talked to people about eternal families and about Heavenly Father´s perfect love and helped them clean and put flowers on the tombstones of their family members and friends. It was really great and we met a lot of nice people that seemed interested in learning more...but what was really great was the wonderful feeling to share the hope of the gospel with people who were missing their loved ones.
We also had a great lesson with Luíza again! She´s the 12-year old girl that we´ve been teaching who is best friends with Emília, a young woman in the branch. By the way, Luíza came to church for the first time yesterday! But the Young Women´s class was canceled for a meeting with the whole branch about the open house invitations.....not exactly the most exciting meeting. I think she was tired after the first hour and told us that she had to leave :( Oh well....I´m sure she´ll visit again to see that it´s not usually like that! We´re planning a Ward Talent Show because she really loves singing and really really loves performing. It will be a good way for her to really get to know the rest of the youth in the ward. This last week we went to visit Luiza and found her 17 year old brother, Ezekiel, at home. He knew that we had been teaching Luíza and had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and the church. Ezekiel was the only one at home...so we decided to sit in the front lawn to explain to him about the Book of Mormon and answer his questions. Luíza and Ezekial live in a neighborhood that I had always been a little nervous to visit....there are always a group of young men, covered in tattoos and piercings, that sit on the side of the road all day long. Usually we just walk by quickly without letting them call to us or make comments, which is pretty common here. But this day, as we were talking to Ezekiel on his front lawn, one by one those same young men, all his friends and cousins, came over and sat down next to us to hear the lesson. Soon we had 6 or 7 all gathered around us and hearing us bear our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the restored church of Jesus Christ...and all of them promised to read and pray to know if it was true. :D I never imagined that one day I´d be teaching all those young men that we had been scared of before! It was really great and one of those mission moments that I´m always going to remember!
Well family, I hope you´re all doing well and are very happy!
Life is great and I love you all!
Thanks for everything!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Back to a twosome; Teaching Elisângela; Halloween
Bom dia Gee Family!
How are all of you doing? How was your Halloween? I want to see pictures of everyone's costumes! I almost completely forgot that yesterday was Halloween...but late at night we had a few trick-or-treaters come to our apartment. Cool, huh? I didn´t even know that kids went trick-or-treating here in Brazil! "Doces ou travessuras!" is what they say here :) It made me think of all of you back at home! I hope your Halloween was fun!
This week was wonderful as always...but it started out with a sad and unexpected surprise. On Thursday afternoon we got a call from an unknown number, and when I answered it was Presidente Vick from the Mission Brazil Salvador Sul....asking to talk to Sister Ferreira. He asked her about her health and if she was feeling any more pain from the surgery. And when she told him that she had been able to work without any problems or pain these last 6 weeks in Santa Cruz do Sul he told her to pack her suitcases because she´d be going back to her mission in the Bahia on Saturday!! I thought that she would be staying until the end of the transfer next week! :( I guess I should be used to these surprises and these goodbyes....but I´m not! I really loved being companions with Sister Ferreira and I already miss her a lot. I wasn´t sure how it was going to be to be in a trio, but she made it so easy and so much fun!!!
So now it´s just me and Sister Fernandes....and our apartment is feeling HUGE! :) I really like Sister Fernandes...she is hilarious and is an amazing teacher. And she likes to run! Perfect, right? This morning we decided to take advantage of this last week we have of the transfer together with just us as companions by starting out the day with an amazing morning run! It was great!! The first time for me in over a year!!! And it was hard.....
The rest of the week was wonderful. We started teaching Elisângela this week...she is amazing! We met Elisângela last week at church when she showed up with her boyfriend, Germano, who is an inactive member. Germano has been a member for years, I think he even served a mission when he was younger, but it has been a long time since he has been to church. I thought that it was awesome that he had decided to come back to church and that he had brought his girlfriend with him. I really liked talking to Elisângela and she seemed really interested in knowing more about the church and quickly agreed when I asked her if we could visit her to teach her more. Elisângela studies pharmaceutics all day at the UNISC (Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul), so we decided to teach her on campus during one of her class breaks. It was such a fun lesson! We sat outside on the grass underneath some trees...it was beautiful and the perfect setting to teach about Joseph Smith and the first vision. During the lesson Elisângela told us that she was the one that had convinced Germano to go to church on Sunday. She said that she had never had a religion or knowledge about God and that she had always wanted to know more. When she found out that Germano was a member of the church she asked him tons of questions about what he believed and what the church taught. She said that she had been begging Germano for weeks to take her to his church and kept being persistent even when he was reluctant until he finally agreed! Wow...she´s amazing! I was impressed by how quick she was to believe the story of Jospeh Smith and how eager she seemed to learn more. When we invited her to be baptized, she accepted and told us that this is what has always been lacking in her life and that she has always been searching for...wtihout even knowing it. Elizângela reminds me about the scripture that talks about the people who "hunger and thirst after righteousness". It is so wonderful to be a missionary and to be able to share the joy of the gospel with others! We are so blessed to be members of the church and to know what we know...sometimes we forget how blessed we are to have the truth in our lives. It just seems so "normal" for us that i think sometimes we take it for granted. But when I meet people like Elisângela and see how excited and happy they are to hear the gospel, it reminds me of how blessed we really are! I love being a missionary!!
and I love you all....so much!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
How are all of you doing? How was your Halloween? I want to see pictures of everyone's costumes! I almost completely forgot that yesterday was Halloween...but late at night we had a few trick-or-treaters come to our apartment. Cool, huh? I didn´t even know that kids went trick-or-treating here in Brazil! "Doces ou travessuras!" is what they say here :) It made me think of all of you back at home! I hope your Halloween was fun!
This week was wonderful as always...but it started out with a sad and unexpected surprise. On Thursday afternoon we got a call from an unknown number, and when I answered it was Presidente Vick from the Mission Brazil Salvador Sul....asking to talk to Sister Ferreira. He asked her about her health and if she was feeling any more pain from the surgery. And when she told him that she had been able to work without any problems or pain these last 6 weeks in Santa Cruz do Sul he told her to pack her suitcases because she´d be going back to her mission in the Bahia on Saturday!! I thought that she would be staying until the end of the transfer next week! :( I guess I should be used to these surprises and these goodbyes....but I´m not! I really loved being companions with Sister Ferreira and I already miss her a lot. I wasn´t sure how it was going to be to be in a trio, but she made it so easy and so much fun!!!
So now it´s just me and Sister Fernandes....and our apartment is feeling HUGE! :) I really like Sister Fernandes...she is hilarious and is an amazing teacher. And she likes to run! Perfect, right? This morning we decided to take advantage of this last week we have of the transfer together with just us as companions by starting out the day with an amazing morning run! It was great!! The first time for me in over a year!!! And it was hard.....
The rest of the week was wonderful. We started teaching Elisângela this week...she is amazing! We met Elisângela last week at church when she showed up with her boyfriend, Germano, who is an inactive member. Germano has been a member for years, I think he even served a mission when he was younger, but it has been a long time since he has been to church. I thought that it was awesome that he had decided to come back to church and that he had brought his girlfriend with him. I really liked talking to Elisângela and she seemed really interested in knowing more about the church and quickly agreed when I asked her if we could visit her to teach her more. Elisângela studies pharmaceutics all day at the UNISC (Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul), so we decided to teach her on campus during one of her class breaks. It was such a fun lesson! We sat outside on the grass underneath some trees...it was beautiful and the perfect setting to teach about Joseph Smith and the first vision. During the lesson Elisângela told us that she was the one that had convinced Germano to go to church on Sunday. She said that she had never had a religion or knowledge about God and that she had always wanted to know more. When she found out that Germano was a member of the church she asked him tons of questions about what he believed and what the church taught. She said that she had been begging Germano for weeks to take her to his church and kept being persistent even when he was reluctant until he finally agreed! Wow...she´s amazing! I was impressed by how quick she was to believe the story of Jospeh Smith and how eager she seemed to learn more. When we invited her to be baptized, she accepted and told us that this is what has always been lacking in her life and that she has always been searching for...wtihout even knowing it. Elizângela reminds me about the scripture that talks about the people who "hunger and thirst after righteousness". It is so wonderful to be a missionary and to be able to share the joy of the gospel with others! We are so blessed to be members of the church and to know what we know...sometimes we forget how blessed we are to have the truth in our lives. It just seems so "normal" for us that i think sometimes we take it for granted. But when I meet people like Elisângela and see how excited and happy they are to hear the gospel, it reminds me of how blessed we really are! I love being a missionary!!
and I love you all....so much!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Geny´s baptism; new chapel; gift of the Holy Ghost is real!
Hello family!
Life is wonderful as always and I am very happy here in Santa Cruz do Sul.
Geny´s baptism was so beautiful! A lot of people came to watch, both members from the ward and investigators that we had invited. Geny was so happy!! She was glowing from the minute we went to pick her to drive to the new chapel. We made a beautiful card for people to sign and Sister Ferreira and I spent all morning baking 2 giant chocolate cakes and making strawberry mousse. We got to the church early to help Geny get ready and to take pictures. When Geny came out of the bathroom in the beautiful white dress that she was baptized in, I suddenly felt the Spirit so strongly! Irmã Fransisca, a member of the church and Geny ´s friend for years, walked up to her to give her a hug and as I watched Geny, all in white and with a light on her face, hug her friend I felt like I was seeing a glimpse of what heaven is going to be like. It was a beautiful beautiful day.
Wow…and it was great to have the baptism in the new chapel. It is finally ready and so beautiful. District conference is going to be in November and the chapel will be dedicated shortly before on November 19th. The whole district is excited!!
The only thing that could have gone better would have been to practice with Geny before having her enter the font. I think that she started to get nervous once she was in the water and stiffened like a board…so every time that Diego tried to baptize her she only went part way under the water. Haha…by the 8th or 9th try I started praying super hard that she would really be able to be baptized that day! :) But luckily she was patient and Diego was persistant and I think that it was on the 11th try that she finally went all the way under the water. I think it might have been my favorite baptism that I have seen...it was still every bit as beautiful and spiritual and it was funny at the same time! I think that every one in the room was trying not to laugh :)
But the biggest difference that I saw was on Sunday after Geny´s confirmation. The gift of the Holy Ghost is real! I am always amazed every time I witness the physical change that happens in a person when they receive the Holy Ghost …You can see it in their eyes. It ´s seems they become a new person. I have noticed it with every baptism on my mission, but I don´t think ever as strongly as with Sílvio, when he was baptized in Montenegro and now again with Geny. (Speaking of Sílvio, remember him?? I got a letter from him recently…he is happy and well and preparing to receive the Melchezidek Priesthood and go through the temple! :D That made me so happy!!)
We´ve been traveling to Vera Cruz a lot these days...which has made it hard to accompany our investigators here in Santa Cruz. But I think that it is worth it, because there are a lot of people there that are progressing! kaiuane is preparing for her baptism in a few weeks! She is such an amazing girl…she turns 9 this week and is so smart! She is tall and skinny and beautiful and reminds me a a lot of Megan…just younger :) On Sunday she asked us to come help her memorize the 4th article of faith....and it took her just minutes to memorize it all! Afterwards we talked to her about her baptism and she said that it is something that she has wanted her whole life, but she feels sad that her parents don´t come to church with her. Kaiuane´s parents are both members, but have been inactive for years and she goes to church each week without them with her grandma, Eloísa... She is such a great example to her parents and we told her that and that she was doing exactly what she needs to to help them come back to church someday. Magda and her 8 year old son, Henrique, also get very excited when we talk about baptism. Magda says that she already knows that the church is true and wants to be baptized...the only problem for them is coming to church each Sunday. The chapel in Santa Cruz is far away and it´s hard for them to pay for the bus ride every week.... But she has a lot of faith! When we have faith and make sacrifices, trusting in the Lord that everything will be alright, He always does His part!
Oh, and guess who we found on the streets walking up to use the internet. Gisele from Rio Pardo! She moved here to Santa Cruz two months ago, but lives on the other side of town in the elder´s area. They already have gone to her house a few times, but haven´t been able to visit her much because her husband, Giovane, works all day and she is always the only one at home. I was so happy to see her…I ran across the street when I saw her to give her a hug. And tomorrow she´s going to eat lunch with us in the center so we´ll have more time to talk!
I got the package from all of you on Thursday!!! Thank you thank you so much!! I loved it….especially all of the photos and notes that you wrote. It made me so happy. The peanut butter was amazing too J Thanks for being the best family ever!!!!!
Well, time to go! Happy Halloween for all of you! Send me pictures of the costumes (and yes , Jared, you better be dressing up! It will be your last time in 2 years!) Thanks for everything! I love you all!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
References from the Lord;
Hello Gee Family!!!
How are you all doing? Life couldn´t be better for me here in Santa Cruz do Sul!
This was a really fun week for Sister Fernandes and Sister Ferreira and me. We are teaching some amazing people and finding new ones every day! It´s amazing how the Lord literally puts people in our paths... Just today when we stopped quickly in the post office to drop off some letters, a postal worker came up to us and started to ask us about the church and what we believed. Without us even having to ask he simply pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down his name and address and asked us if we could visit him to explain more. Perfect! haha...when this happens.Sister Fernandes calls them "references from the Lord" :D
Another night this week as we were heading for our last appointment of the day, we received another "referência do Senhor" It was already almost 8:00 at night and we were in a neighborhood kind of far away from our apartment that we don´t go to very often, so I was guiding Sister Ferreira and Sister Fernandes. We were going to visit Roberta, a family that I´ve already visited a few times, but in the dark it was difficult to recognize the houses and as we walked down the street I started to feel worried that I wouldn´t be able to remember the right house. Suddenly I saw a house ahead and immediately recognized it. I knew that it was Roberta´s house and didn´t have a doubt in my mind as I walked confidantly up to the door to clap. It wasn´t until AFTER I had already clapped at the gate that I looked closer at the house....and realized that it definitely was NOT the right house. It didn´t even look the same at all! I couldn´t even believe that I had thought for a second that it was Roberta´s house...but luckily, no one came to the door and I quickly told the sisters that I had been mistaken and started to continue to walk down the street....when suddenly Sister Fernandes said, "Wait, Sister Gee....Look!" She pointed to the house where you could see through the open window a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall. The picture of Jesus Christ in a red robe that only our church has...... "They must be members," Sister Fernandes said, "No other church has that picture. Let´s knock again!" I was very surprised...I had never heard anyone talk about members living in that neighborhood, so we clapped again. This time a man came to the door....and boy was he happy to see us! He shouted, "Élderes!!!!!" and ran to let us in! :)
haha... So, that´s how we met João Cláudio and his nephew João Anderson, members that hadn´t gone to church in over 15 years. And we also met João Cláudio´s mom, Míria, who also had heard all the lessons with the elders 15 years before and has already gone to church several times and still reads the Book of Mormon....but never was able to be baptized. I love references from the Lord! They are always the best ones :) Heavenly Father is so good and kind and every time that I feel His hand guiding us, my testimony is strengthened that this really is His work!
The rest of the week was wonderful too. On Saturday we had planned a ward activity (Noite do Cachorro Quente!) to help our investigators meet more of the members here in Santa Cruz. Sister Fernandes and SIster Ferreira and I had planned the activity especially with Guilherme (Cristiane´s boyfriend) and Nilmar (Ana´s boyfriend) in mind. Both Ana and Cristiane are really progressing...but Nilmar and Guilherme are more timid and hesitant to come to church. So we thought a fun activity with the other members in the branch would be perfect for them. Unfortunately, a few nights before the activity they both found out that they would be out of town that weekend. I was disappointed and a little worried about our activity...but it still turned out perfectly! So many members came! Even members (and missionaries) from the other branch here in Santa Cruz came! The hot dogs were delicious (Brazilian hot dogs are soooo amazing!) and games were simple and fun and everyone really liked the night. Geni came too and the members treated her like royalty! She is so happy!! She seems like a different person these days...you can see the light of the gospel starting to change her life. You can see it in her eyes!
This Saturday is going to be Geni´s baptism! We had been planning on having the baptism in a member´s pool, but the branch president, Presidente Walter, surprised us on Sunday when he announced that the baptism would be held in the new chapel!! It won´t even be dedicated until the middle of November and we´re already going to be using the baptismal font! :D All of the members here are super excited for the baptism...one, because this will be the first baptism in the branch since February and two, EVERYONE is anxious to see the inside of the new chapel! It´s beautiful.... So, we´re thinking that a lot of people are going to be coming to watch the baptism. :) Geni is very excited too! She is so wonderful...she reads everything that we mark for her in the Book of Mormon and more. And she is already taking us to meet all of her friends and family to invite them to her baptism....she´s already an amazing missionary!
So, yes, life is wonderful and I am very happy! There is no greater joy than helping people find the peace and hope that the gospel brings!
Be happy!
I love you all!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
PS...Oktoberfest was super fun!! I ate chocolate-dipped strawberries and cuca and an amazing bratwurst with sauerkraut (called "chucrute" here) mmmmmm!
How are you all doing? Life couldn´t be better for me here in Santa Cruz do Sul!
This was a really fun week for Sister Fernandes and Sister Ferreira and me. We are teaching some amazing people and finding new ones every day! It´s amazing how the Lord literally puts people in our paths... Just today when we stopped quickly in the post office to drop off some letters, a postal worker came up to us and started to ask us about the church and what we believed. Without us even having to ask he simply pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down his name and address and asked us if we could visit him to explain more. Perfect! haha...when this happens.Sister Fernandes calls them "references from the Lord" :D
Another night this week as we were heading for our last appointment of the day, we received another "referência do Senhor" It was already almost 8:00 at night and we were in a neighborhood kind of far away from our apartment that we don´t go to very often, so I was guiding Sister Ferreira and Sister Fernandes. We were going to visit Roberta, a family that I´ve already visited a few times, but in the dark it was difficult to recognize the houses and as we walked down the street I started to feel worried that I wouldn´t be able to remember the right house. Suddenly I saw a house ahead and immediately recognized it. I knew that it was Roberta´s house and didn´t have a doubt in my mind as I walked confidantly up to the door to clap. It wasn´t until AFTER I had already clapped at the gate that I looked closer at the house....and realized that it definitely was NOT the right house. It didn´t even look the same at all! I couldn´t even believe that I had thought for a second that it was Roberta´s house...but luckily, no one came to the door and I quickly told the sisters that I had been mistaken and started to continue to walk down the street....when suddenly Sister Fernandes said, "Wait, Sister Gee....Look!" She pointed to the house where you could see through the open window a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall. The picture of Jesus Christ in a red robe that only our church has...... "They must be members," Sister Fernandes said, "No other church has that picture. Let´s knock again!" I was very surprised...I had never heard anyone talk about members living in that neighborhood, so we clapped again. This time a man came to the door....and boy was he happy to see us! He shouted, "Élderes!!!!!" and ran to let us in! :)
haha... So, that´s how we met João Cláudio and his nephew João Anderson, members that hadn´t gone to church in over 15 years. And we also met João Cláudio´s mom, Míria, who also had heard all the lessons with the elders 15 years before and has already gone to church several times and still reads the Book of Mormon....but never was able to be baptized. I love references from the Lord! They are always the best ones :) Heavenly Father is so good and kind and every time that I feel His hand guiding us, my testimony is strengthened that this really is His work!
The rest of the week was wonderful too. On Saturday we had planned a ward activity (Noite do Cachorro Quente!) to help our investigators meet more of the members here in Santa Cruz. Sister Fernandes and SIster Ferreira and I had planned the activity especially with Guilherme (Cristiane´s boyfriend) and Nilmar (Ana´s boyfriend) in mind. Both Ana and Cristiane are really progressing...but Nilmar and Guilherme are more timid and hesitant to come to church. So we thought a fun activity with the other members in the branch would be perfect for them. Unfortunately, a few nights before the activity they both found out that they would be out of town that weekend. I was disappointed and a little worried about our activity...but it still turned out perfectly! So many members came! Even members (and missionaries) from the other branch here in Santa Cruz came! The hot dogs were delicious (Brazilian hot dogs are soooo amazing!) and games were simple and fun and everyone really liked the night. Geni came too and the members treated her like royalty! She is so happy!! She seems like a different person these days...you can see the light of the gospel starting to change her life. You can see it in her eyes!
This Saturday is going to be Geni´s baptism! We had been planning on having the baptism in a member´s pool, but the branch president, Presidente Walter, surprised us on Sunday when he announced that the baptism would be held in the new chapel!! It won´t even be dedicated until the middle of November and we´re already going to be using the baptismal font! :D All of the members here are super excited for the baptism...one, because this will be the first baptism in the branch since February and two, EVERYONE is anxious to see the inside of the new chapel! It´s beautiful.... So, we´re thinking that a lot of people are going to be coming to watch the baptism. :) Geni is very excited too! She is so wonderful...she reads everything that we mark for her in the Book of Mormon and more. And she is already taking us to meet all of her friends and family to invite them to her baptism....she´s already an amazing missionary!
So, yes, life is wonderful and I am very happy! There is no greater joy than helping people find the peace and hope that the gospel brings!
Be happy!
I love you all!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
PS...Oktoberfest was super fun!! I ate chocolate-dipped strawberries and cuca and an amazing bratwurst with sauerkraut (called "chucrute" here) mmmmmm!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Oktoberfest; Amazing lesson with Geni;
Alô Querida Família!
How are you all doing? This week was wonderful for us here in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! October in Santa Cruz is beautiful and people from all over Brazil are here for Oktoberfest :) It´s exciting and we can hear the music all the way from our apartment each night. The city is gorgeous too...full of flowers and decorations and flags from German cities. It makes me think of you every day, Dad! I think that we´re going to spend the last hour of our P-day touring the different stands and shops in the Oktoberfest park...so this is going to be a quick email, sorry! :) It should be fun, though!
What an amazing week! We had an amazing lesson with Geni on Saturday night. She is super excited for her baptism in 2 weeks! Geni´s is such a sweet person, but she´s had a hard life and she told us that for the first time in her life she is feeling the love that Heavenly Father has for her. She told us that reads the Book of Mormon every morning and night and she told us that she has never felt so much peace in her life. Yesterday at church, she was telling everyone that she saw about her baptism :)
We´re also preparing Henrique to be baptized at the end of the month. He is Magda´s son who just turned 8 years old a few months ago. Magda has a strong testimony of the church and is going to be baptized too...it´s just been complicated because she is a widow and will lose her pension if she gets married again to her current husband. Luckily, there are a few members in the ward that are lawyers that are helping us try to work that out :) But for now, Madga is very excited for Henrique to be baptized. And I know that helping him get ready for and seeing his baptism is going to strengthen her own faith and help the whole family! So it looks like we´ll be traveling to Vera Cruz a lot these next few weeks!
Ana and Nilmar are still doing great. Nilmar is super timid...but the members are helping us a lot by going out of their way to be friendly. We´re going to have a Noite Familiar with them and Irmão Campos´s family this week. I´m excited!
And this Saturday we´re planning a ward Hot Dog night for all of the members and our investigators :) It´s going to be a busy week!
Oh and guess what...yesterday I went to Porto Alegre with a bunch of elders to renew my visa...now I can stay in Brazil for one more year!!! :D hmmm....tempting, I know :) I love love love life and Brazil and being a missionary!!
And I love you all!!
I´m glad that you´re feeling better, Mom...stay healthy! Aren´t we so blessed to have the priesthood in our lives and homes? Thanks Dad :) And Jared, too! Or should I say....the future Elder Gee!!! I hope you´re excited!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
How are you all doing? This week was wonderful for us here in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! October in Santa Cruz is beautiful and people from all over Brazil are here for Oktoberfest :) It´s exciting and we can hear the music all the way from our apartment each night. The city is gorgeous too...full of flowers and decorations and flags from German cities. It makes me think of you every day, Dad! I think that we´re going to spend the last hour of our P-day touring the different stands and shops in the Oktoberfest park...so this is going to be a quick email, sorry! :) It should be fun, though!
What an amazing week! We had an amazing lesson with Geni on Saturday night. She is super excited for her baptism in 2 weeks! Geni´s is such a sweet person, but she´s had a hard life and she told us that for the first time in her life she is feeling the love that Heavenly Father has for her. She told us that reads the Book of Mormon every morning and night and she told us that she has never felt so much peace in her life. Yesterday at church, she was telling everyone that she saw about her baptism :)
We´re also preparing Henrique to be baptized at the end of the month. He is Magda´s son who just turned 8 years old a few months ago. Magda has a strong testimony of the church and is going to be baptized too...it´s just been complicated because she is a widow and will lose her pension if she gets married again to her current husband. Luckily, there are a few members in the ward that are lawyers that are helping us try to work that out :) But for now, Madga is very excited for Henrique to be baptized. And I know that helping him get ready for and seeing his baptism is going to strengthen her own faith and help the whole family! So it looks like we´ll be traveling to Vera Cruz a lot these next few weeks!
Ana and Nilmar are still doing great. Nilmar is super timid...but the members are helping us a lot by going out of their way to be friendly. We´re going to have a Noite Familiar with them and Irmão Campos´s family this week. I´m excited!
And this Saturday we´re planning a ward Hot Dog night for all of the members and our investigators :) It´s going to be a busy week!
Oh and guess what...yesterday I went to Porto Alegre with a bunch of elders to renew my visa...now I can stay in Brazil for one more year!!! :D hmmm....tempting, I know :) I love love love life and Brazil and being a missionary!!
And I love you all!!
I´m glad that you´re feeling better, Mom...stay healthy! Aren´t we so blessed to have the priesthood in our lives and homes? Thanks Dad :) And Jared, too! Or should I say....the future Elder Gee!!! I hope you´re excited!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
General Conference was amazing; Still a trio - Sister Fernandes and Sister Ferreira
Hello Gee Family!
Wow...wasn´t General Conference amazing?? I loved it. The spirit was so strong during all of the talks and I felt like I learned so much. Ana and Nilmar and their little baby, Herrick, came! They are such an amazing family and progressing a lot! I loved all of the talkes, especially the stories about faith and prayer that were told...most of the stories were so simple...finding a quarter on the road for a piece of fried chicken, the 5 dollars in President Monson´s jeans pocket being protected....but it really made me think about the perfect love and kindness that our loving Heavenly Father always shows us. We can have His help and guidance in every moment....we just need to have faith and remember Him and to seek Him in everything! I also loved President Uchtdorf´s talk about how compared with God, we are nothing...but we are Everything to Him! :) I thought about all of you a lot during the conference (especially when the new Provo temple was announced!!! yay!!), being all at home watching conference together...and it made me feel very grateful to have such a righteous and loving family. I am so lucky!! And I love you all so much! It also hit me super hard during I think it was Elder Cornish´s talk about missionary work...on of the last talks on Sunday afternoon, that this was going to be the last session of General Conference that I would be watching as a missionary. That made me feel sad...of course I´m excited to be home with all of you, but I´m really going to miss being a missionary. It is the happiest life and a wonderful work. I can´t believe how quickly this year went by! And I have loved every single moment :)
So this was another wonderful week for us in Santa Cruz do Sul! Oh! And guess what....we are still in a trio!! That was a surprise for me :) I was pretty sure that when Sister Dangerfield left, it would just be Sister Ferreira and I. We even put away the extra bed after saying goodbye to Sister Dangerfield Tuesday morning. But at about 2 pm that afternoon we got a call from the elders in Porto Alegre to tell us that our new companion, Sister Fernandes from São Paulo, would be arriving that night! :D I love surprises!
So yup...the fun of a life as a missionary trio continues!! Santa Cruz is a great place to be a missionary. I was a little worried to have Sister Dangerfield leave after just one transfer...it´s a big city! I´ve only gotten lost once or twice though. After lunch at Rosane´s house on Wednesday, our first day of the new transfer, I told Sister Fernandes and Sister Ferreira that there was a reference that lived close by that we could contact. I led them around a few streets, trying to remember where the house was and finally found it! I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having remembered and recognized the house and walked up confidantly to knowck at the door...when suddenly Sister Fernandes said, pointing to the house next door, "Hey, isn´t that where we ate lunch?" Sure enough...I looked over to see Rosane´s house where we had just left minutes before and to realize that our "reference" was her next door neighbor. Haha...... :)
Sister Fernandes is great...this is her 3rd transfer in the mission and she is an amazing missionary! And Sister Ferreira already feels like my sister :) We´ve had some great experiences this week and found some amazing new people to teach. Clace is a sister of a member of the other branch here in Santa Cruz. She lives alone with her 10 year old son, Felipe, and when we met her she was smiling and happy. But as we were teaching the 1st lesson, her ex-husband called to set a time to visit Felipe, and suddenly it became obvious that the happiness and smile was disguising a lot of pain and depression that she was feeling. Clace really opened up to us and told us that she feels very discouraged and alone in her life. We talked about God´s perfect love for all of His children and His gospel of peace and hope. I was glad that Heavenly Father had helped us understand what she needed to hear. I could see that she felt the Spirit a lot...we were all feeling it. There was a happy and hopeful look in her eyes and a REAL smile on her face as we left her house. It is so wonderful to feel the love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children. There is no greater happiness than sharing Heavenly Father´s love for others and seeing them change. We never need to be afraid to open our mouths and tell others about His love and His gospel...and if we remember that they really are our brothers and sisters, we never will be! I love being a missionary and it makes me happy to remember that I always can be one. :)
I hope that you are all doing well and loving life and looking for opportunities to be missionaries and examples for every one around you! We are so blessed to be members of the true church! :) You are the best family every and I love you all!!!!
That´s so exciting that there is going to be a new temple in Provo!!! When President Monson announced the new temple, I imagined you all listening at home and had a vision of Dad jumping up and down and screaming....and then I remembered that he only does that in BYU football games :)
Love you!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Wow...wasn´t General Conference amazing?? I loved it. The spirit was so strong during all of the talks and I felt like I learned so much. Ana and Nilmar and their little baby, Herrick, came! They are such an amazing family and progressing a lot! I loved all of the talkes, especially the stories about faith and prayer that were told...most of the stories were so simple...finding a quarter on the road for a piece of fried chicken, the 5 dollars in President Monson´s jeans pocket being protected....but it really made me think about the perfect love and kindness that our loving Heavenly Father always shows us. We can have His help and guidance in every moment....we just need to have faith and remember Him and to seek Him in everything! I also loved President Uchtdorf´s talk about how compared with God, we are nothing...but we are Everything to Him! :) I thought about all of you a lot during the conference (especially when the new Provo temple was announced!!! yay!!), being all at home watching conference together...and it made me feel very grateful to have such a righteous and loving family. I am so lucky!! And I love you all so much! It also hit me super hard during I think it was Elder Cornish´s talk about missionary work...on of the last talks on Sunday afternoon, that this was going to be the last session of General Conference that I would be watching as a missionary. That made me feel sad...of course I´m excited to be home with all of you, but I´m really going to miss being a missionary. It is the happiest life and a wonderful work. I can´t believe how quickly this year went by! And I have loved every single moment :)
So this was another wonderful week for us in Santa Cruz do Sul! Oh! And guess what....we are still in a trio!! That was a surprise for me :) I was pretty sure that when Sister Dangerfield left, it would just be Sister Ferreira and I. We even put away the extra bed after saying goodbye to Sister Dangerfield Tuesday morning. But at about 2 pm that afternoon we got a call from the elders in Porto Alegre to tell us that our new companion, Sister Fernandes from São Paulo, would be arriving that night! :D I love surprises!
So yup...the fun of a life as a missionary trio continues!! Santa Cruz is a great place to be a missionary. I was a little worried to have Sister Dangerfield leave after just one transfer...it´s a big city! I´ve only gotten lost once or twice though. After lunch at Rosane´s house on Wednesday, our first day of the new transfer, I told Sister Fernandes and Sister Ferreira that there was a reference that lived close by that we could contact. I led them around a few streets, trying to remember where the house was and finally found it! I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having remembered and recognized the house and walked up confidantly to knowck at the door...when suddenly Sister Fernandes said, pointing to the house next door, "Hey, isn´t that where we ate lunch?" Sure enough...I looked over to see Rosane´s house where we had just left minutes before and to realize that our "reference" was her next door neighbor. Haha...... :)
Sister Fernandes is great...this is her 3rd transfer in the mission and she is an amazing missionary! And Sister Ferreira already feels like my sister :) We´ve had some great experiences this week and found some amazing new people to teach. Clace is a sister of a member of the other branch here in Santa Cruz. She lives alone with her 10 year old son, Felipe, and when we met her she was smiling and happy. But as we were teaching the 1st lesson, her ex-husband called to set a time to visit Felipe, and suddenly it became obvious that the happiness and smile was disguising a lot of pain and depression that she was feeling. Clace really opened up to us and told us that she feels very discouraged and alone in her life. We talked about God´s perfect love for all of His children and His gospel of peace and hope. I was glad that Heavenly Father had helped us understand what she needed to hear. I could see that she felt the Spirit a lot...we were all feeling it. There was a happy and hopeful look in her eyes and a REAL smile on her face as we left her house. It is so wonderful to feel the love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children. There is no greater happiness than sharing Heavenly Father´s love for others and seeing them change. We never need to be afraid to open our mouths and tell others about His love and His gospel...and if we remember that they really are our brothers and sisters, we never will be! I love being a missionary and it makes me happy to remember that I always can be one. :)
I hope that you are all doing well and loving life and looking for opportunities to be missionaries and examples for every one around you! We are so blessed to be members of the true church! :) You are the best family every and I love you all!!!!
That´s so exciting that there is going to be a new temple in Provo!!! When President Monson announced the new temple, I imagined you all listening at home and had a vision of Dad jumping up and down and screaming....and then I remembered that he only does that in BYU football games :)
Love you!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Monday, September 26, 2011
Exploding grandma; Going to miss Sister Dangerfield; Teaching Gabrele at the pensão
Hello my dear family! How are all of you doing?
Life is great for me! What a great wonderful fabulous week we had in Santa Cruz do Sul!! I have decided I REALLY love being a missionary in a trio! It is so great! This week I think I laughed more than I have laughed in my whole life...on the streets, in our apartment, during planning... Sister Dangerfield and Sister Ferreira and I had a lot of fun. Haha, just one example: so on Friday night as we were planning, Sister Dangerfield started to tell a story about an airplane exploding...but instead of using the word for airplane "avião" she used the word for grandma "avó". hahaha...I kind of assumed what she had meant, but when I saw the shocked/concerned look on Sister Ferreira´s face as she imagined a grandma exploding in flames, I couldn´t help myself and burst out laughing :) It was funny. We also had some amazing teaching experiences together...some of the best lessons I´ve had on the mission. I loved it all!!! And, like all wonderful things, it went way too fast... :(
Yup, tomorrow is transfers. And Sister Dangerfield is going to leave us :( :(
I know that by now I should be used to transfers and companions leaving and everything....but I´m super sad! One transfer was way too short! I really am going to miss Sister Dangerfield...she is so quick to love and to serve and she makes life so much fun...and her testimony brings the spirit immediately to the lesson. It´s not going to be the same in Santa Cruz.... :(
BUT! I´m super excited for a new transfer in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! This city is so wonderful....and did I tell you that the members are AMAZING??!! We had so much help from the members this week. Daniel and Priscila came with us on Monday to help us with the young couples that we are teaching and then on Saturday night Daniel and Tatiana (another couple from the ward) invited us for dinner at their apartment with Cristiane and Guilherme. I was nervous that Guilherme wouldn´t come...he is so timid sometimes!! But with a lot of persuading we got him to come. The dinner was perfect! Guilherme really liked Daniel and they talked and talked and talked... We had planned a lesson to teach, but we didn´t even need to worry because Daniel had it all taken care of. We watched a "mormon message" with President Monson talking about the things that matter most and then talked about the gospel and how it helps us have stronger more loving families. It was perfect!! And the best part....after dessert (no that was not the "best part" that I was talking about) as we were leaving the other Daniel called us and asked if he could help by picking up Cristiane and Guilherme for church the next day. :) I love this branch!!
Do you remember Gabriele, the 19 year old girl that we met at the bus stop? Wow...she is amazing! Gabriele studies and works 2 jobs so it is hard to find her at home during the week...but this Saturday we were finally able to teach her. She lives in a pensão (a house with 10 other girls) so we were teaching her in the main living room area. It was such an amazing lesson...I don´t know why but the Spirit was so strong! I´ve never felt it so strong during a lesson on my mission. We gave her the Book of Mormon at the beginning of the lesson (different than usual...normally we give it to them as we are finishing the 1st lesson) and the minute she had it in her hands she opened it and started reading. Really reading! Like she was super interested and excited to find out what was inside. We taught the message of the restoration of the gospel, and like I said...the spirit was so strong. The words just seemed to flow naturally and easily...and I was feeling so happy! And then, as we were just finishing testifying about the Prophet Joseph Smith and inviting her to pray to know for herself if these things were true....out of nowhere the landlady burst into the room! She ran in yelling and screaming with her hands waving in the air "Right now! Get out! This is not a Church this is a pensão!" !!! It was crazy!! She was shouting and talking a million words a minute. We calmly told her that we were sorry and that we would leave and quickly ended the message and left. It was funny though....as we left I realized that, in a normally stressful and awkward situation, I was feeling amazingly happy and calm. I couldn´t stop smiling! And as we walked, Sister Dangerfield and Sister Ferreira and I talked about what had happened, and we realized just how much the Lord had guided that particular lesson. The Spirit had been so strong and we had just enough time to teach the restoration. We had even been able to give her the Book of Mormon and explain about it before the lesson....it was all perfect!! I really really liked Gabriele too...she really seems to be looking for something in her life. I know that we´re going to be able to teach her again....we´ll just have to find a new place next time. Or convert the landlady first :)
So! It was a great week :) Santa Cruz is becoming beautiful....the flowers are starting to bloom and the streets are getting freshly cleaned and painted for...OKTOBERFEST!!! :D
And our district is getting ready for the dedication of our new chapel. It´s so beautiful!
Good things are coming ahead!
Life is great! I love you all!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Life is great for me! What a great wonderful fabulous week we had in Santa Cruz do Sul!! I have decided I REALLY love being a missionary in a trio! It is so great! This week I think I laughed more than I have laughed in my whole life...on the streets, in our apartment, during planning... Sister Dangerfield and Sister Ferreira and I had a lot of fun. Haha, just one example: so on Friday night as we were planning, Sister Dangerfield started to tell a story about an airplane exploding...but instead of using the word for airplane "avião" she used the word for grandma "avó". hahaha...I kind of assumed what she had meant, but when I saw the shocked/concerned look on Sister Ferreira´s face as she imagined a grandma exploding in flames, I couldn´t help myself and burst out laughing :) It was funny. We also had some amazing teaching experiences together...some of the best lessons I´ve had on the mission. I loved it all!!! And, like all wonderful things, it went way too fast... :(
Yup, tomorrow is transfers. And Sister Dangerfield is going to leave us :( :(
I know that by now I should be used to transfers and companions leaving and everything....but I´m super sad! One transfer was way too short! I really am going to miss Sister Dangerfield...she is so quick to love and to serve and she makes life so much fun...and her testimony brings the spirit immediately to the lesson. It´s not going to be the same in Santa Cruz.... :(
BUT! I´m super excited for a new transfer in Santa Cruz do Sul!!! This city is so wonderful....and did I tell you that the members are AMAZING??!! We had so much help from the members this week. Daniel and Priscila came with us on Monday to help us with the young couples that we are teaching and then on Saturday night Daniel and Tatiana (another couple from the ward) invited us for dinner at their apartment with Cristiane and Guilherme. I was nervous that Guilherme wouldn´t come...he is so timid sometimes!! But with a lot of persuading we got him to come. The dinner was perfect! Guilherme really liked Daniel and they talked and talked and talked... We had planned a lesson to teach, but we didn´t even need to worry because Daniel had it all taken care of. We watched a "mormon message" with President Monson talking about the things that matter most and then talked about the gospel and how it helps us have stronger more loving families. It was perfect!! And the best part....after dessert (no that was not the "best part" that I was talking about) as we were leaving the other Daniel called us and asked if he could help by picking up Cristiane and Guilherme for church the next day. :) I love this branch!!
Do you remember Gabriele, the 19 year old girl that we met at the bus stop? Wow...she is amazing! Gabriele studies and works 2 jobs so it is hard to find her at home during the week...but this Saturday we were finally able to teach her. She lives in a pensão (a house with 10 other girls) so we were teaching her in the main living room area. It was such an amazing lesson...I don´t know why but the Spirit was so strong! I´ve never felt it so strong during a lesson on my mission. We gave her the Book of Mormon at the beginning of the lesson (different than usual...normally we give it to them as we are finishing the 1st lesson) and the minute she had it in her hands she opened it and started reading. Really reading! Like she was super interested and excited to find out what was inside. We taught the message of the restoration of the gospel, and like I said...the spirit was so strong. The words just seemed to flow naturally and easily...and I was feeling so happy! And then, as we were just finishing testifying about the Prophet Joseph Smith and inviting her to pray to know for herself if these things were true....out of nowhere the landlady burst into the room! She ran in yelling and screaming with her hands waving in the air "Right now! Get out! This is not a Church this is a pensão!" !!! It was crazy!! She was shouting and talking a million words a minute. We calmly told her that we were sorry and that we would leave and quickly ended the message and left. It was funny though....as we left I realized that, in a normally stressful and awkward situation, I was feeling amazingly happy and calm. I couldn´t stop smiling! And as we walked, Sister Dangerfield and Sister Ferreira and I talked about what had happened, and we realized just how much the Lord had guided that particular lesson. The Spirit had been so strong and we had just enough time to teach the restoration. We had even been able to give her the Book of Mormon and explain about it before the lesson....it was all perfect!! I really really liked Gabriele too...she really seems to be looking for something in her life. I know that we´re going to be able to teach her again....we´ll just have to find a new place next time. Or convert the landlady first :)
So! It was a great week :) Santa Cruz is becoming beautiful....the flowers are starting to bloom and the streets are getting freshly cleaned and painted for...OKTOBERFEST!!! :D
And our district is getting ready for the dedication of our new chapel. It´s so beautiful!
Good things are coming ahead!
Life is great! I love you all!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dia do Gaúcho! Now in a trio! The gospel gives us so much peace!
Oí Família!
Hello! Sorry for not writing yesterday. We couldn´t use the internet because it the 20th of September is a huge holiday here in Rio Grande do Sul...Dia do Gaúcho! I love it when holidays fall on P-days....we got to watch the horse parade (awesome!) and visit the beautiful cathedral (the tallest in all of South America) and eat ice cream in the plaça. It was kind of nice having everything closed...we didn´t even have to worry about shopping or using the internet! I´m pretty sure it was my first relaxing P-day on the mission :)
So do you want to know the most exciting news of the week? We are now in a trio!!! Last Saturday Presidente Pavan called us to tell us to set up a new bed and rearrange the apartment for a trio, because a new sister was coming to work with us in Santa Cruz...and that she would be here Monday morning! Sister Carine Ferreira is from Novo Hamburgo and was serving a mission in the Bahia (north-eastern Brazil), but had to come home for a minor surgery. She stayed in Novo Hamburgo for a few months and now she´s going to work for a transfer in our mission until she goes back to the Bahia on November 8th. Awesome, huh? She is so fun and is was great to have a real gaúchan to celebrate Dia do Gaúcho with! Haha...she even taught us the Hino da República yesterday morning..."foi dia 20 de setembro...precursor da liberdade!!" My first gaúchan companion!! Now I have someone to drink chimarrão with every morning!!! :D
I love being in a trio on a mission....it just seems like a party every day and even the lessons seem easier to teach with three. We have had some great experiences these last two days. Monday was the best! Priscila and Daniel (a young couple in the ward) took advantage of the 3-day weekend and came with us to visit Christiane & Guilherme and Ana & Nilmar. It was perfect. The lessons and testimonies were powerful and the spirit was strong...and both Guilherme and Nilmar really liked Daniel and seemed more comfortable with the idea of coming to church next week. I especially liked the lesson with Ana. She came to church last week and loved it (Nilmar didn´t come with her...but I think he´s coming next week!). Ana told us that she has been reading the Book of Mormon every night and knows that it is true. She said that she never felt so good inside any other church that she has visited. She is amazing!!
We also had a great lesson with Fernanda last night... Sometimes it is difficult to teach because she is always busy and running from one thing to another, but last night we found her at home, alone and crying. Her mom died a few months ago and she told us that she was missing her a lot that day... Fernanda started telling us how she feels like she has an emptiness in her life and she is searching for something to fill it. We had planned to teach her the message of the Restoration again because it had been a while since she had heard it...and it was perfect! We talked about the love that Heavenly Father has for her and how His gospel will fill her life with peace and hope. As we told the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith and bore testimony that Heavenly Father does talk to His children again through living prophets and reveals His perfect plan of salvation through them, Fernanda just started to cry and cry. She said that she believes that it is true :) I don´t think that I have every felt the spirit so strongly during a lesson...it was wonderful and it made me so happy. The gospel gives us so much peace! I love being a missionary and being able to share the message of the restoration of the gospel every day with our brothers and sisters who are searching for that peace. There is no greater happiness!!!!
I love you all!!! have a good week!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Hello! Sorry for not writing yesterday. We couldn´t use the internet because it the 20th of September is a huge holiday here in Rio Grande do Sul...Dia do Gaúcho! I love it when holidays fall on P-days....we got to watch the horse parade (awesome!) and visit the beautiful cathedral (the tallest in all of South America) and eat ice cream in the plaça. It was kind of nice having everything closed...we didn´t even have to worry about shopping or using the internet! I´m pretty sure it was my first relaxing P-day on the mission :)
So do you want to know the most exciting news of the week? We are now in a trio!!! Last Saturday Presidente Pavan called us to tell us to set up a new bed and rearrange the apartment for a trio, because a new sister was coming to work with us in Santa Cruz...and that she would be here Monday morning! Sister Carine Ferreira is from Novo Hamburgo and was serving a mission in the Bahia (north-eastern Brazil), but had to come home for a minor surgery. She stayed in Novo Hamburgo for a few months and now she´s going to work for a transfer in our mission until she goes back to the Bahia on November 8th. Awesome, huh? She is so fun and is was great to have a real gaúchan to celebrate Dia do Gaúcho with! Haha...she even taught us the Hino da República yesterday morning..."foi dia 20 de setembro...precursor da liberdade!!" My first gaúchan companion!! Now I have someone to drink chimarrão with every morning!!! :D
I love being in a trio on a mission....it just seems like a party every day and even the lessons seem easier to teach with three. We have had some great experiences these last two days. Monday was the best! Priscila and Daniel (a young couple in the ward) took advantage of the 3-day weekend and came with us to visit Christiane & Guilherme and Ana & Nilmar. It was perfect. The lessons and testimonies were powerful and the spirit was strong...and both Guilherme and Nilmar really liked Daniel and seemed more comfortable with the idea of coming to church next week. I especially liked the lesson with Ana. She came to church last week and loved it (Nilmar didn´t come with her...but I think he´s coming next week!). Ana told us that she has been reading the Book of Mormon every night and knows that it is true. She said that she never felt so good inside any other church that she has visited. She is amazing!!
We also had a great lesson with Fernanda last night... Sometimes it is difficult to teach because she is always busy and running from one thing to another, but last night we found her at home, alone and crying. Her mom died a few months ago and she told us that she was missing her a lot that day... Fernanda started telling us how she feels like she has an emptiness in her life and she is searching for something to fill it. We had planned to teach her the message of the Restoration again because it had been a while since she had heard it...and it was perfect! We talked about the love that Heavenly Father has for her and how His gospel will fill her life with peace and hope. As we told the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith and bore testimony that Heavenly Father does talk to His children again through living prophets and reveals His perfect plan of salvation through them, Fernanda just started to cry and cry. She said that she believes that it is true :) I don´t think that I have every felt the spirit so strongly during a lesson...it was wonderful and it made me so happy. The gospel gives us so much peace! I love being a missionary and being able to share the message of the restoration of the gospel every day with our brothers and sisters who are searching for that peace. There is no greater happiness!!!!
I love you all!!! have a good week!!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
I love being a missionary and I love Santa Cruz do Sul!; Crazy dog story
Bom dia, Gee Family!
Another wonderful week in Santa Cruz do Sul!
Friday was a day of training in Santa Cruz...it was great! Sister Braga and Sister Lira came from Venâncio Aires and Sister Oliveira and Sister Grant came from Rio Pardo...and all the elders from Santa Cruz, Lajeado, Estrela, Presidente and Sister Pavan and the assistents. From 10 am to 5 pm we got to listen to trainings from the president and the district and zone leaders, practice lessons and teaching techniques and interviews with the president. I learned a lot! It´s amazing how excited I feel to work after every one of those trainings...it´s great! Presidente Pavan had some exciting news for us...well, at least for Sister Dangerfield and me. He said that "logo logo" (that means super soon!) there would be a new branch in Vera Cruz. !!!! That made me so happy! Vera Cruz is a small city about 20 minutes away from Santa Cruz that is part of our area, but because it is so far away we only get to visit about twice a week. There are so many members in Vera Cruz, but it´s really hard for most of them to attend church regularly when the chapel is in another city....it´s going to be so good for them! And whoever the lucky missionaries are that are going to open the area are going to love it...the people in Vera Cruz are so loving and accepting and really great to teach. Oh, and guess what else...at the end of the training Presidente Pavan handed out new portable DVD players for each apartment so that we can use the new Preach My Gospel dvds during study time. Crazy, huh? Missionaries are getting more and more "chique" all the time :) It felt like Christmas!
And the rest of the week was great too...I love being a missionary and I love Santa Cruz do Sul! We met, Gabriele, a really sweet 19 year old girl at the bus stop and, when the bus ended up never coming, walked with her the 40 minutes to her apartment that just happened to be across the street from our investigator that we were going to visit. She is great...smart and nice and fun...and we got a lot of time to get to know her and talk about the church as we walked. She seems really interested! I´m excited to go back. We had the sisters in Rio Pardo ask Elizângela to write her testimony about the gospel for Tatiane..and it was beautiful and perfect! I know that it is going to help Tatiane have more desire to have the same change and light in her own life. And Rafael, Alice´s husband, is back at home! I was so happy to hear that...and the best part, Alice knows that it was a miracle from God that her husband is still alive and thanked us for our prayers for her family. She is excited to know more about the church and to visit.
Oh, and remember how I told you that my love for dogs was dying? Well it died. Seriously....gone. Remember how I had told you when I was in Rio Pardo that the worst had happened and was over?? Well, that´s what I thought too...until yesterday. So last night Sister Dangerfield and I went to visit Laura, an older lady and recent convert, and her friend, Geni, that we´ve been teaching for a few weeks (Oh, by the way...Geni came to church last Sunday and loved it! When the members came up to introduce themselves and to welcome her and tell her to be sure to always visit she kept saying over and over again "Amen! Amen!"...haha! It was great). Well anyways, we had just entered Laura´s yard and were helping her in her backyard with her vegetable garden and chickens while we waited for Geni to get there...when her huge dog, Fritz, came up to me, lifted his leg.... and went all over my skirt! And really....he´s a HUGE dog....my skirt and legs and shoes were soaking wet! I just stood there for a while in shock, not believing it....and finally Laura and Sister Dangerfield looked over and saw. Yup, once again I had to stand there helpless waiting for them to stop laughing enough to come and help me.....:) The lesson was an...interesting one...I think it was hard to teach sitting in a cold kitchen with Sister Dangerfield´s coat over my legs and Laura´s giant flip-flops while my skirt was hanging on a chair with a fan blowing on it to help it dry faster..... It seems like Geni was still feeling the Spirit though because she accepted our baptism invitation and said that she was reading from the Book of Mormon every night! So it was a good night and I was smiling the whole coooold walk home. But really...can you believe it???
Well family, remember that I love you lots! Thanks for being the best family ever!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Springtime in Santa Cruz do Sul; Heavenly Father´s perfect love and His perfect plan
Helloooooo Gee family!
What a great week! What a beautiful day! The sun is shining and it is actually getting WARM here in Brazil! I really love spring...and Santa Cruz do Sul is the perfect city to be in to enjoy it! This city is gorgeous...different than any other Brazilian city that I´ve seen and the streets full of trees and flowers and birds...it´s beautiful!
So guess what! Tomorrow is Brazil´s Independence Day! The 7th of September....last year it was on a Tuesday (P-day!) so Sister Gibson and I got to watch the parade in Montenegro (has it really been a year??) but I´m not sure how much Sister Dangerfield and I will be able to see. Our apartment isn´t too far away from the center, so maybe we´ll be able to see something from our balcony during study time :) I don´t think Independence Day is a very big holiday here though...at least not in Rio Grande do Sul. Everyone is much more excited for Dia do Gaúcho in a few weeks (20th of September)!
Speaking of Dia do Gaúcho...Jane and her family are sooo busy with their gaúchan store these days. It´s been hard to find time to teach them! Jane sews about 30 "vestidos de prenda", the gaúchan dresses, every day!! They are gorgeous and covered with really detailed embroidery...beautiful! And a Lot of work! Every time we go over she is working and sewing and cutting. Her husband, Pedro, is working like crazy these days too...he´s traveling almost every day these week to sell at different rodeos all over the state. They are so sweet though...every time we go over Jane takes time to listen to a message and to make us feel like royal guests. And their two sons João Pedro and Marco Antônio are awesome. I love this family!
We also had a sad experience this week... So the first day that we met Jane, she gave us the names of some of her friends that she said would like our visits. One of them, she had said, was particularly needing it. Alice and Rafael are a young couple that live down the street with their 4 year old daughter. Jane told us that Rafael had very serious brain cancer and had not been doing very well lately. When we went by the first time we met Alice as she was leaving her home. She was so nice and happy..I really liked her right away! Alice told us that she would love to hear our message and asked us to come back the next day after lunch. But the next day when we went back there was an ambulance in front of their door and a lot of doctors running around. Alice saw us standing on the corner as she was getting into the ambulance and she told us that Rafael was going to the hospital and asked us to come back the next night....she looked like she was in a dream, like she wasn´t really believing what was happening. The next night when we went to Alice´s home we found her right when she was leaving again. She just gave both Sister Dangerfield and I a huge hug and began sobbing and sobbing and told us that Rafael was in a coma and the doctors had told her that he had just a few days left to live. She cried and cried and asked us why God was letting this happen when she and her 4 year old daughter needed their husband and father so much. It made me so sad to see her cry and to see her feeling so lost and alone. We testified to her of Heavenly Father´s love for her and knowledge of her and promised that He wanted to fill her with peace....and then we just hugged her and cried with her. I felt so much love for her...a woman that I had just met and hardly knew, but in that moment my heart filled with the love that I know that Heavenly Father has for her and I felt like I was hugging my sister. I´m so grateful for the knowledge that we have of Heavenly Father´s perfect love and His perfect plan. I´m excited for her to hear the good news of the plan of salvation because of our Saviour Jesus Christ!
I also met Fernanda this week, a 21 year old girl who is so sweet and kind. Her mother used to receive visits from the missionaries, but died this year in May. You can tell that Fernanda misses her a lot...she told us that she knows that her mother would be so happy to see her receiving our visits and learning more about God, something that she hadn´t given much importance to before her mom had died. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and talked about the how her mom was learning the same things in the Spirit Would that we were teaching her right now. :) I think that she really liked that thought.... I really like Fernanda and she really seems to be looking for the truth. The only problem....she works every Saturday night from midnight to 8 am Sunday morning at a bar....that makes church early Sunday morning a little difficult...hmmmm...
Oh, and one more story....this week when we were talking to Cristiane about the Book of Mormon she told us that she and Guilherme have been reading it together every night. Christiane said that the first night she had invited Guilherme to come read with her and he just grunted something in response without moving from the computer where he was sitting....not at all interested. So she said that she just started reading out loud from 1 Nefi 1, not even sure if he was going to listen or not. But after reading 2 chapters straight, she realized that they both were really enjoying it! Cristiane said she asked Guilherme if he had been paying attention and just to make sure asked, "Who was the brother of Nephi that listened to him?" and he said "Sam, of course!" And then when she asked if they should stop of if she keep reading chapter 3, Guilherme said "Keep reading...it´s a good story..." hahaha! :) That made me so happy! I´ve already noticed the difference in Guilherme´s attitude during the lessons...he really is starting to participate and to seem interested in learning more. On Sunday we walked to church with Cristiane (a Beautiful morning!...and an hour long walk!! we are so blessed in Utah!) and she told us that she never had thought that Guilherme would come with her to church, but that now she really believed that someday soon he would! :)
Mom! You´re amazing and inspire me and the pictures Dad sent are incredible!! Good job on your triathlon!!!!!!
Well dear family! Have a wonderful week! Thanks for the emails and pictures...(and the BYU football updates...go cougars!!) You guys are the best and I love you tons!!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Life´s great here in Santa Cruz do Sul!
Alô Gee Family!!
How are you all doing? Life´s great here in Santa Cruz do Sul!
So I´m really starting to feel at home in this beautiful city. This week was super fun and full of miracles.
Remember Cristiane? This week we finally find Guilherme (her boyfriend) at home too and were able to teach them both together. Cristiane said that he never seemed interested in participating in the lessons before and always stayed up in his bedrooms when the sisters would come over. Sister Dangerfield and I were praying that we could start teaching Guilherme too, because, really, it is a lot easier for a couple to progress when they are progressing together. And our prayer was answered! Guilherme still kind of seem reluctant at first, but he came down and listened and participated in the lesson, and by the end he seemed a lot more receptive. They said they´re going to start reading the Book of Mormon together every night...I´m excited! I know it´s going to help Cristiane a lot!
Oh and I haven´t told you about Tatiane yet! I think that she was the first person that I met in Santa Cruz do Sul. The sisters had met her on the bus a few weeks ago and gotten her address, but had never been able to find her at home after that. So we went by and found her at home with her 3 little girls...Andressa, Nadiesca and Michelle. We talked for a while and I told her that I had served in Rio Pardo for six months and she said "Oh! My good friend moved to Rio Pardo from Vera Cruz 6 months ago!" Yup...her "good friend" is Elizângela! Crazy, huh? Rio Pardo is small...but not That small!! It is so amazing how Heavenly Father works! Tatiane said that she remembers when Elizângela was baptized in Vera Cruz 2 years ago and the huge difference that she had seen the church make in her life. Tatiane said that she really needs that peace and light in her life right now....she seems very sad and depressed and told us that she is going through a very difficult situation with her husband right now. I´m excited that she already has seen the how the gospel has changed Elizângela. She seems like she has a sincere desire to feel the same peace in her own life...Heavenly Father really does literally lead us to those whose hearts are prepared to receive us! We called the sisters in Rio Pardo (Sister Grant and....Sister Oliveira!!! :D) to see if they can ask Elizângela to write her testimony in a Book of Mormon for us to give Tatiane next week.
And the best part of the week!! We found an ammmmmazing new family to teach! Really...they are Golden! So Wednesday was a crazy day...our lunch appointment canceled, so we ate at home and left our apartment early and excited with a full day of lessons scheduled...and one by one every single appointment that we had planned fell through! I felt the discouragement start to creep into my heart as we looked at our list of investigators and realized that, by 3pm, we had absolutely no one left....but then I remembered the story about Samuel the Lamanite that I had read during study time earlier that morning. When they don´t let you in by the gate, climb onto the wall! :) This is the Lord´s work that we are doing and His work will always go forward. So we got to work! Talking to everyone on the streets and knocking doors and trying to find new people that we could teach. It had been a long while since I´ve had to do that because in Rio Pardo we were always trying to keep up with our huge list of references (a missionary´s paradise!).....so it was super fun! :) But wow...this city is soooo different than Rio Pardo! Everyone here seems to always be in a hurry and a lot less excited to stop and talk to us about the gospel...haha, most just looked confused and surprised whén we´d stop to talk to them. The few people that seemed interested lived in other cities, and we got a lot of "Não"s...but it was still a good and fun day....it just fills your heart with joy to be a missionary and spreading the good news to the world! And then...on the last door we knocked for the day, we met Jane and her two teenage sons, Marco Antônio and João Pedro. What an amazing amazing family! Jane seemed really excited to meet us and told us that her sister was baptized in Canoas 15 years ago, when she was a young girl, and that she can still remember the elders coming to visit her family and the good feeling that they always brought into her home. Her husband, Pedro, wasn´t home...but she really liked the lesson and told us she wanted us to come back when the whole family was at home. Oh and want to know the best part?? They are a super gaúchan family...they even have cowhide rugs on their floor and the boys were wearing bombachos and boots...and they own a gaúchan store! Rancho do Gaúcho. Awesome... And guess what...as we were leaving, she asked us if we would visit the homes of some of her friends that lived closeby...and gave us 3 names and addresses to contact. Miracles do happen!! :)
Well I love you so much, family! Have a great first week back in school :D Remember that I love you!!
And Happy Birthday, Celecta!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
How are you all doing? Life´s great here in Santa Cruz do Sul!
So I´m really starting to feel at home in this beautiful city. This week was super fun and full of miracles.
Remember Cristiane? This week we finally find Guilherme (her boyfriend) at home too and were able to teach them both together. Cristiane said that he never seemed interested in participating in the lessons before and always stayed up in his bedrooms when the sisters would come over. Sister Dangerfield and I were praying that we could start teaching Guilherme too, because, really, it is a lot easier for a couple to progress when they are progressing together. And our prayer was answered! Guilherme still kind of seem reluctant at first, but he came down and listened and participated in the lesson, and by the end he seemed a lot more receptive. They said they´re going to start reading the Book of Mormon together every night...I´m excited! I know it´s going to help Cristiane a lot!
Oh and I haven´t told you about Tatiane yet! I think that she was the first person that I met in Santa Cruz do Sul. The sisters had met her on the bus a few weeks ago and gotten her address, but had never been able to find her at home after that. So we went by and found her at home with her 3 little girls...Andressa, Nadiesca and Michelle. We talked for a while and I told her that I had served in Rio Pardo for six months and she said "Oh! My good friend moved to Rio Pardo from Vera Cruz 6 months ago!" Yup...her "good friend" is Elizângela! Crazy, huh? Rio Pardo is small...but not That small!! It is so amazing how Heavenly Father works! Tatiane said that she remembers when Elizângela was baptized in Vera Cruz 2 years ago and the huge difference that she had seen the church make in her life. Tatiane said that she really needs that peace and light in her life right now....she seems very sad and depressed and told us that she is going through a very difficult situation with her husband right now. I´m excited that she already has seen the how the gospel has changed Elizângela. She seems like she has a sincere desire to feel the same peace in her own life...Heavenly Father really does literally lead us to those whose hearts are prepared to receive us! We called the sisters in Rio Pardo (Sister Grant and....Sister Oliveira!!! :D) to see if they can ask Elizângela to write her testimony in a Book of Mormon for us to give Tatiane next week.
And the best part of the week!! We found an ammmmmazing new family to teach! Really...they are Golden! So Wednesday was a crazy day...our lunch appointment canceled, so we ate at home and left our apartment early and excited with a full day of lessons scheduled...and one by one every single appointment that we had planned fell through! I felt the discouragement start to creep into my heart as we looked at our list of investigators and realized that, by 3pm, we had absolutely no one left....but then I remembered the story about Samuel the Lamanite that I had read during study time earlier that morning. When they don´t let you in by the gate, climb onto the wall! :) This is the Lord´s work that we are doing and His work will always go forward. So we got to work! Talking to everyone on the streets and knocking doors and trying to find new people that we could teach. It had been a long while since I´ve had to do that because in Rio Pardo we were always trying to keep up with our huge list of references (a missionary´s paradise!).....so it was super fun! :) But wow...this city is soooo different than Rio Pardo! Everyone here seems to always be in a hurry and a lot less excited to stop and talk to us about the gospel...haha, most just looked confused and surprised whén we´d stop to talk to them. The few people that seemed interested lived in other cities, and we got a lot of "Não"s...but it was still a good and fun day....it just fills your heart with joy to be a missionary and spreading the good news to the world! And then...on the last door we knocked for the day, we met Jane and her two teenage sons, Marco Antônio and João Pedro. What an amazing amazing family! Jane seemed really excited to meet us and told us that her sister was baptized in Canoas 15 years ago, when she was a young girl, and that she can still remember the elders coming to visit her family and the good feeling that they always brought into her home. Her husband, Pedro, wasn´t home...but she really liked the lesson and told us she wanted us to come back when the whole family was at home. Oh and want to know the best part?? They are a super gaúchan family...they even have cowhide rugs on their floor and the boys were wearing bombachos and boots...and they own a gaúchan store! Rancho do Gaúcho. Awesome... And guess what...as we were leaving, she asked us if we would visit the homes of some of her friends that lived closeby...and gave us 3 names and addresses to contact. Miracles do happen!! :)
Well I love you so much, family! Have a great first week back in school :D Remember that I love you!!
And Happy Birthday, Celecta!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
New area: Santa Cruz do Sul! New companion: Sister Dangerfield
Querida família,
Hello dear family! I bet you´re all excited to hear where I´m writing this email from. :D Let me give you a few hints....it´s from a beautiful city veeeeery close to Rio Pardo (20 kilometros), about the size of Provo, famous for it´s amazing cuca and delicious sausage, has the tallest catholic cathedral in South America and the German capital of Brazil.... and also where I´ve already been visiting every week for District Meeting. Yup!! My next (and likely last) city is none other than Santa Cruz do Sul!!
And Sister Dangerfield is my new companion! She is from Cedar City, Utah and this is her first area in Brazil (she also got to serve a part of her mission in Alabama while she was waiting for her visa...cool, huh?) It´s awesome...we´re already super good friends because we´ve been in the same district for the last 3 transfers and I am so happy and excited that now we get to be companions! Sister Dangerfield is awesome...she is fun and loving and always always serving! The members, the investigators, people on the street, me....it´s an amazing example to me! I love her a lot and I know we´re going to have an awwwwwesome transfer together! Oh, another cool thing about Sister Dangerfield... she was roommates at BYU with Laura Sederberg and Julia Blackham and hung out of few times with Aubrey Clegg, Steve Holmes and Archie!! Hahaha...it´s been fun to remember and talk about old times with her... :D
So, I know that this city is super close to Rio Pardo...but I don´t think they could be more different! From the busy mossy tree-lined streets to the beautiful German accent...most of the people speak German here too! I´ll have to learn a few things while I´m here so I can talk with you when I get back, Dad!
This week was super great...and super fast too! Time really flies by when you´re walking down new streets and meeting new people and trying to remember who everyone is and what their story is. One of the wonderful things about transfers! It really is like pushing the restart button on your life... But the wonderful thing about this transfer is that I´m literally right next door to Rio Pardo. I have already seen Renata twice (Nara´s daughter who´s getting married next month...here in Santa Cruz!) and Irmão Ernesto in the praça by the cathedral where he paints every day. And every day we talk to people who know people that I know in Rio Pardo...ít´s very fun, but sometimes I still feel homesick!
But I´m already loving it here too. There are so many amazing people here in Santa Cruz. I´m already super excited for this transfer and the investigators that the sisters have been teaching. Cristiane is 25 years old and lives with her boyfriend, Guilherme, is studying psychology and she is amazing!! I think the sisters found her cutting grass in front of her apartment and starting talking to her about the church...and she´s become our best friend ever since! She comes to church every week and is reading the Book of Mormon a lot and is just one of those happy people that are good to be around. I love her already! On Friday night she came with us to a ward lasagna party....Cristiane, Sister Dangerfield and I got to be the judges and be the first to test the different lasagnas. Mmmm...they were amazing...first place was a chicken and chili lasagna with a white cheesy sauce on top. It reminded me A LOT of Mom´s chicken enchiladas. Que saudades!! :) Of course, it was my vote!!
Oh, guess what else! On Sunday we went to Vera Cruz, a small town about a 15 minute bus ride away from Santa Cruz that is also part of our area. There isn´t a branch in Vera Cruz yet, so the members that live there come all the way to Santa Cruz on Sundays to come to church. I loved it!!! I felt like I was back in Rio Pardo again...small and quiet town with dirt roads and green fields. Sister Dangerfield took me to meet Magda and Èder and their family...4 little boys and a new baby girl, Stefany. Èder is Antònia and Elias´ son and has been investigating the church ever since his sister, Tatiane, was baptized in Rio Pardo! :) I really liked them a lot...Magda is 23 years old and already a mom of 5 children!! And such a good and loving mom too.....and Èder reminded me so much of his dad, Elias!
The branch here is great too! All of the members love the missionaries and are always offering to help. I was super surprised on Thursday morning when Diego, the branch missionary leader, called to ask us if we needed any members to help give car rides to our investigators on Sunday morning. Wow! I really think that I´m going to like working here for my last area...:) The only downside is that most of the members here are very busy with work and things and seem to always be running...Sister Dangerfield said that it is hard to find members that can come with us to teach lessons during the day. Oh yes, cool story...Well, on Friday morning during companionship study we made the goal to try to teach more lessons with a member present. We were just heading to our first appointment of the day when suddenly we heard a shout behind us. "Sísteres!" When we turned around we saw a woman hurrying towards us. I thought "oh, another irmã from the ward" and Sister Dangerfield said she thought "must be another person from Rio Pardo that knows Sister Gee" :) haha...but really it turned out to be a member from São Paulo who is came here to Santa Cruz for a business trip with her husband. She told us "Sisters! I´m here alone and am bored and have nothing to do...and I love missionary work! Can I come with you on your visits? I have a car!" :D haha....perfect!! Another testimony to me that Heavenly Father will always help us reach our goals when we are doing all we can....this is His work!
Well, family, I got to go again! Thanks for your emails and your love... I am suuuuper happy today, I just got an amazing package from my best friend!!! :) I still haven´t stopped smiling!
Thank you Melissa!!!!
And thanks for the pictures, Dad! My favorite was the Easter eggs with Kyle and Megan....you make me feel so loved :) I miss you!
I love you all!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Monday, August 15, 2011
Leaving Rio Pardo; Tutoring math
Querida Gee Family!!!
Hello!!! How are you all doing?
So...the biggest news of the day....yes, I am leaving Rio Pardo tomorrow morning and being transferred to my next (and possibly last) area. Crazy, huh? I´ve been expecting it, so it hasn´t been a huge surprise and I even got to give a quick farewell talk in sacrament meeting yesterday....but it still makes me sad to think about leaving this wonderful place that has been my home for the last 6 months. But guess what...good news too! This morning when the elders called to let us know about the transfer they said that, yes, I was being transferred, but that I wasn´t going to go to Porto Alegre tomorrow morning with the rest of the missionaries. Do you know what that means?? I´m staying close to Rio Pardo!! I´m guessing either Santa Cruz or Venâncio Aires. :D And do you know what else that means?! I´ll for sure be able to see a lot of the members from Rio Pardo once in a while still! Actually, if I stay in the district, I´ll get to see them all in just a few months because District Conference is scheduled in November!! That made me super happy and it has been making the goodbyes today a lot easier....
Speaking of goodbyes, we have a lot of people I still want to visit before tomorrow morning, so this is going to be a quick email and a short P-day. But let me tell you quickly about some of the wonderful things that happened this week. This was a fast and wonderful week....Carlos invited us over for Family Night with his family and surprised us with an amazing churrasco!! Afterwards we sang together "As Famílias Poderão Ser Eternas"....the whole family was there together squished together on the sofas in their family room and I just felt so much love and completely happy. I´m pretty sure that that night will always be one of my favorite memories with that wonderful family!
Sílvia and Erialdo also surprised me with a little goodbye party and Sílvia even gave me the cuia that she always uses so that I can drink chimarrão at home! Complete with an Internacional (my favorite Brazilian soccer team) bomba. I loved it! They are such amazing people and I am going to miss them so much.... Erialdo is really liking the Book of Mormon and still reading a lot...though I think the whole Nephi killing Laban thing threw him off a little :) haha...he is so funny. Yesterday we talked about eternal families and we gave them a copy of the Proclamation to the World. They really liked it a lot and asked a lot of questions about the temple and sealings... I really am going to miss teaching this family! Sister Grant and I made them an apple pie (that´s what everyone thinks of hear when they think about the United States) to say goodbye and to thank them for always receiving us so well in their home. They really treat us like we are part of the family! It is amazing how much love they have.....
Oh, and guess what else we got to do this week? Rosângela, an investigator we´ve been teaching for a while, had a really important test this week that she had to pass to keep her job as a hospital nurse and she was really really nervous about the math section...so Sister Grant and I tutored her for a couple hours on Friday afternoon! It was super fun and she seemed a lot more confidant and happy afterwards....but it made me scared!! I´m not sure I´m ready to go back to BYU math classes again!! :S Oh well, at least I still have 4 more months to enjoy the mission before I have to worry about that again. Oh! and the best part....when we were leaving Rosângela asked us what part of the Book of Mormon we recommended her to read before going in to the test. She told us that she always feels more at peace after reading and was planning on reading right before her test so that she would be sure to feel calm and have a clear mind. That made me happy to hear that she already has that testimony of the Book of Mormon! It really is amazing the power that the Book of Mormon has....it immediately invites the spirit! In whatever situation!
Well family....remember that I love you so much! Who knows where I will be tomorrow?? I´m sad to leave Rio Pardo...but I have no doubt that it is the Lord´s will and that good things are ahead. He loves us so much and guides us every day of our lives. I love being a missionary!
Gotta run...last family night here in Rio Pardo is going to be with Jorge and Ediméia´s family....we´re going to make American pancakes with real maple syrup!
I love you all! So much!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Hello!!! How are you all doing?
So...the biggest news of the day....yes, I am leaving Rio Pardo tomorrow morning and being transferred to my next (and possibly last) area. Crazy, huh? I´ve been expecting it, so it hasn´t been a huge surprise and I even got to give a quick farewell talk in sacrament meeting yesterday....but it still makes me sad to think about leaving this wonderful place that has been my home for the last 6 months. But guess what...good news too! This morning when the elders called to let us know about the transfer they said that, yes, I was being transferred, but that I wasn´t going to go to Porto Alegre tomorrow morning with the rest of the missionaries. Do you know what that means?? I´m staying close to Rio Pardo!! I´m guessing either Santa Cruz or Venâncio Aires. :D And do you know what else that means?! I´ll for sure be able to see a lot of the members from Rio Pardo once in a while still! Actually, if I stay in the district, I´ll get to see them all in just a few months because District Conference is scheduled in November!! That made me super happy and it has been making the goodbyes today a lot easier....
Speaking of goodbyes, we have a lot of people I still want to visit before tomorrow morning, so this is going to be a quick email and a short P-day. But let me tell you quickly about some of the wonderful things that happened this week. This was a fast and wonderful week....Carlos invited us over for Family Night with his family and surprised us with an amazing churrasco!! Afterwards we sang together "As Famílias Poderão Ser Eternas"....the whole family was there together squished together on the sofas in their family room and I just felt so much love and completely happy. I´m pretty sure that that night will always be one of my favorite memories with that wonderful family!
Sílvia and Erialdo also surprised me with a little goodbye party and Sílvia even gave me the cuia that she always uses so that I can drink chimarrão at home! Complete with an Internacional (my favorite Brazilian soccer team) bomba. I loved it! They are such amazing people and I am going to miss them so much.... Erialdo is really liking the Book of Mormon and still reading a lot...though I think the whole Nephi killing Laban thing threw him off a little :) haha...he is so funny. Yesterday we talked about eternal families and we gave them a copy of the Proclamation to the World. They really liked it a lot and asked a lot of questions about the temple and sealings... I really am going to miss teaching this family! Sister Grant and I made them an apple pie (that´s what everyone thinks of hear when they think about the United States) to say goodbye and to thank them for always receiving us so well in their home. They really treat us like we are part of the family! It is amazing how much love they have.....
Oh, and guess what else we got to do this week? Rosângela, an investigator we´ve been teaching for a while, had a really important test this week that she had to pass to keep her job as a hospital nurse and she was really really nervous about the math section...so Sister Grant and I tutored her for a couple hours on Friday afternoon! It was super fun and she seemed a lot more confidant and happy afterwards....but it made me scared!! I´m not sure I´m ready to go back to BYU math classes again!! :S Oh well, at least I still have 4 more months to enjoy the mission before I have to worry about that again. Oh! and the best part....when we were leaving Rosângela asked us what part of the Book of Mormon we recommended her to read before going in to the test. She told us that she always feels more at peace after reading and was planning on reading right before her test so that she would be sure to feel calm and have a clear mind. That made me happy to hear that she already has that testimony of the Book of Mormon! It really is amazing the power that the Book of Mormon has....it immediately invites the spirit! In whatever situation!
Well family....remember that I love you so much! Who knows where I will be tomorrow?? I´m sad to leave Rio Pardo...but I have no doubt that it is the Lord´s will and that good things are ahead. He loves us so much and guides us every day of our lives. I love being a missionary!
Gotta run...last family night here in Rio Pardo is going to be with Jorge and Ediméia´s family....we´re going to make American pancakes with real maple syrup!
I love you all! So much!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
No missionary so powerful as the Book of Mormon and the spirit testifying that it is true!
Hello querida família!
It sounds like your summer was wonderful and hot and relaxing...and too quickly coming to an end! I am feeling almost the same way...except for the hot and relaxing part :) But these wonderful last 4 transfers (almost 6 months!! crazy...) in Rio Pardo have been amazing and went by much too quickly... Yup, Dad...I think you´re right about this most likely being my last week here. That is hard to believe...this beautiful little town has really become my home and the members and investigators that I love feel like my own family! It is going to be very hard to leave...but also good to know that other great things are always waiting ahead!
This week was wonderful! My favorite lesson was with Gisele...the minute that we got to her house she ran to the door and told us that she got her answer about the Book of Mormon! :) haha...by far the best way for a missionary to be greeted! She was so excited when she told us about it...I guess she had been having a hard time with her younger brother, William, who lives in a little house in her backyard. He is 21 years old and is doing a lot of things right now that are getting him in trouble with the law and making life really hard on himself and his family. Well, after a particularly hard day and when Gisele was very angry with him, William knocked on her door and asked if he could have a plate of food. Furious, Gisele yelled at him and told him no and closed her door on him. Gisele said she felt so empty and sad inside after that and knew that what she had done was wrong, so she said a prayer and picked up the Book of Mormon and read and read and read. I´m not sure what part she read, but she said it felt as if God was talking directly to her and she read exactly what she needed to learn. Gisele said that her heart was filled with peace. She said that she had never felt Heavenly Father´s love and presence so powerfully before...she said that she had no doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that she is excited to read all of it! :)
Oh, and remember Eunice and her family? This week we were at the home on Friday evening around 6:30pm and they excitedly showed us inside and told us that we were going to be able to take part in their weekly pôr-do-sol. Every Friday night at sunset they celebrate and welcome the Sabbath day (saturday for them). Murilo had his watch out and we waited until 6:37 pm, when the sun had officially set, and then Eunice said a prayer and we read Psalms together and sang a lot of hymns....I loved it! We switched off taking turns singing hymns from our different hymnbooks....then we sang together "Battle-hymn of the Republic" because we realized it was in both of ours. After the sunset, Sister Grant and I taught a lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is the "living water" that brings real joy and peace in our lives. There was such a wonderful feeling in the room during that lesson...I am so amazed by the warmth and love that so many people here have and how quickly and lovingly they welcome us into their home. It is an amazing example to me...maybe we have differences in our religion or the language that we speak, but the perfect love that Jesus Christ has for us and that we have for Him unites us all if we let it.
Sunday was the best day of the week by far!! First of all, because after a long and rainy and cold week we woke up to a beautiful and warm and sunny Sunday morning. It was gorgeous! The next good thing was when Sister Grant and I went early to Feijaõ´s house to go with him and Aline to pick up Marlene and Jennifer for church. Marlene has been wanting to come for a while, but she has knee problems and can´t make the walk to church, so I was super grateful that Feijão offered to come with us to pick her her. They were both already ready and waiting outside their house! Sister Grant and I got out so that they would have room in their little slug-bug and started the walk back to church...
I didn´t think that I could feel any happier walking in the bright warm sun to church, until we turned the corner by Kátia and Carlos´s house, and up the road a ways I saw the whole family....with Carlos and the boys in white shirts and ties and Kátia holding baby Douglas, all walking together to church. I think the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.... :) I love that wonderful family so much!!!
Church was wonderful too. So many investigators came...some that I wasn´t even expecting to see there! José and Antônio and Susy and Darlan and Tatiane.... Testimony meeting was super powerful and all about missionary work...Elder Lamone just got home from Paraíba last week and the whole branch is super excited!
And afterwards Sílvia and Erialdo invited us to their home for Sunday lunch...they are such an amazing family! They are so giving and loving and treat us like we are part of the family. Sílvia even taught us to make sonhos, an amazing Brazilian pastry, for dessert afterwards. They are fried doughnut-like things, rolled in sugar and cinnamon...and soooo incredible! Actually, Rio Pardo is famous for it´s sonhos, but this was a super secret recipe that comes from Portugal that she has only taught to 1 other person in her entire life. I can´t believe she wanted to teach us! :) Afterwards we talked about the Book of Mormon and answered some of Erialdo´s questions. Erialdo is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and is loving it! He is such a smart man and always has incredible questions that sometimes are tricky to answer...but I know that his heart is being touched by the spirit as he is reading. Yesterday at Moacir´s home (a church member and Erialdo´s co-worker) said that he overheard Erialdo talking to another friend about the Book of Mormon. His friend, apparently a pastor for another religion, was criticizing the Book of Mormon and the church...and Moacir said that Erialdo started defending the Book of Mormon and told the pastor that he was reading it and liking everything that he had read. :) That´s so awesome!! It made me super happy to hear that.... There is no missionary so powerful as the Book of Mormon and the spirit testifying that it is true!!!
Well family, I love you all so much! Have a wonderful few last weeks of summer!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
It sounds like your summer was wonderful and hot and relaxing...and too quickly coming to an end! I am feeling almost the same way...except for the hot and relaxing part :) But these wonderful last 4 transfers (almost 6 months!! crazy...) in Rio Pardo have been amazing and went by much too quickly... Yup, Dad...I think you´re right about this most likely being my last week here. That is hard to believe...this beautiful little town has really become my home and the members and investigators that I love feel like my own family! It is going to be very hard to leave...but also good to know that other great things are always waiting ahead!
This week was wonderful! My favorite lesson was with Gisele...the minute that we got to her house she ran to the door and told us that she got her answer about the Book of Mormon! :) haha...by far the best way for a missionary to be greeted! She was so excited when she told us about it...I guess she had been having a hard time with her younger brother, William, who lives in a little house in her backyard. He is 21 years old and is doing a lot of things right now that are getting him in trouble with the law and making life really hard on himself and his family. Well, after a particularly hard day and when Gisele was very angry with him, William knocked on her door and asked if he could have a plate of food. Furious, Gisele yelled at him and told him no and closed her door on him. Gisele said she felt so empty and sad inside after that and knew that what she had done was wrong, so she said a prayer and picked up the Book of Mormon and read and read and read. I´m not sure what part she read, but she said it felt as if God was talking directly to her and she read exactly what she needed to learn. Gisele said that her heart was filled with peace. She said that she had never felt Heavenly Father´s love and presence so powerfully before...she said that she had no doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that she is excited to read all of it! :)
Oh, and remember Eunice and her family? This week we were at the home on Friday evening around 6:30pm and they excitedly showed us inside and told us that we were going to be able to take part in their weekly pôr-do-sol. Every Friday night at sunset they celebrate and welcome the Sabbath day (saturday for them). Murilo had his watch out and we waited until 6:37 pm, when the sun had officially set, and then Eunice said a prayer and we read Psalms together and sang a lot of hymns....I loved it! We switched off taking turns singing hymns from our different hymnbooks....then we sang together "Battle-hymn of the Republic" because we realized it was in both of ours. After the sunset, Sister Grant and I taught a lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is the "living water" that brings real joy and peace in our lives. There was such a wonderful feeling in the room during that lesson...I am so amazed by the warmth and love that so many people here have and how quickly and lovingly they welcome us into their home. It is an amazing example to me...maybe we have differences in our religion or the language that we speak, but the perfect love that Jesus Christ has for us and that we have for Him unites us all if we let it.
Sunday was the best day of the week by far!! First of all, because after a long and rainy and cold week we woke up to a beautiful and warm and sunny Sunday morning. It was gorgeous! The next good thing was when Sister Grant and I went early to Feijaõ´s house to go with him and Aline to pick up Marlene and Jennifer for church. Marlene has been wanting to come for a while, but she has knee problems and can´t make the walk to church, so I was super grateful that Feijão offered to come with us to pick her her. They were both already ready and waiting outside their house! Sister Grant and I got out so that they would have room in their little slug-bug and started the walk back to church...
I didn´t think that I could feel any happier walking in the bright warm sun to church, until we turned the corner by Kátia and Carlos´s house, and up the road a ways I saw the whole family....with Carlos and the boys in white shirts and ties and Kátia holding baby Douglas, all walking together to church. I think the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.... :) I love that wonderful family so much!!!
Church was wonderful too. So many investigators came...some that I wasn´t even expecting to see there! José and Antônio and Susy and Darlan and Tatiane.... Testimony meeting was super powerful and all about missionary work...Elder Lamone just got home from Paraíba last week and the whole branch is super excited!
And afterwards Sílvia and Erialdo invited us to their home for Sunday lunch...they are such an amazing family! They are so giving and loving and treat us like we are part of the family. Sílvia even taught us to make sonhos, an amazing Brazilian pastry, for dessert afterwards. They are fried doughnut-like things, rolled in sugar and cinnamon...and soooo incredible! Actually, Rio Pardo is famous for it´s sonhos, but this was a super secret recipe that comes from Portugal that she has only taught to 1 other person in her entire life. I can´t believe she wanted to teach us! :) Afterwards we talked about the Book of Mormon and answered some of Erialdo´s questions. Erialdo is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and is loving it! He is such a smart man and always has incredible questions that sometimes are tricky to answer...but I know that his heart is being touched by the spirit as he is reading. Yesterday at Moacir´s home (a church member and Erialdo´s co-worker) said that he overheard Erialdo talking to another friend about the Book of Mormon. His friend, apparently a pastor for another religion, was criticizing the Book of Mormon and the church...and Moacir said that Erialdo started defending the Book of Mormon and told the pastor that he was reading it and liking everything that he had read. :) That´s so awesome!! It made me super happy to hear that.... There is no missionary so powerful as the Book of Mormon and the spirit testifying that it is true!!!
Well family, I love you all so much! Have a wonderful few last weeks of summer!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Baptism of Róges and Elisângela; I´m slowly losing my love for dogs
Querida família,
Alô de Rio Pardo! Everything is going great here and I´m loving life! It´s hard to believe it´s already August though....August!! A year ago this week I was on a plane leaving the United States and heading to São Paulo! Wow...I´m pretty sure that this was the fastest year of my life! It´s been the very best too :) I love being a missionary!
This week was a great one for Sister Grant and me! The baptism on Wednesday for Róges and Elisângela was beautiful. So many ward members and their family members came to watch the baptism and there was a very happy and wonderful spirit in the room. The best part was hearing their 9 year old daughter Bruna say the closing prayer and to see them all together...now the whole family is baptized in the church and preparing for the temple! What a beautiful and wonderful family....
On Saturday the branch also had a "Mãos que Ajudam" activity...I think it was a Brazil nation-wide service day for all the wards and branches in the country. Here in Rio Pardo we cleaned a day-care center, scrubbing and bleaching walls, washing windows, raking leaves and cutting the lawn. It looked great when we were done and was super fun to have the entire branch working together. And of course, we had great churrasco afterwards to make it all worth it :)
Darlã, Beka´s 13 year old son, is doing great and really progressing fast! He has read so much of the Book of Mormon and came to watch the baptism. On Sunday, Darlã not only came to church but he even brought his whole family and 2 friends with him! I am so excited to be teaching him...he is on fire and excited about the gospel! Darlã told us that he wants to be a missionary when he´s 19. He told me yesterday that the first time that we invited him and his family to come to church he had woken up on Sunday morning very tired and late and ornery and not wanting to come. But he told us that he got out of bed and prayed asking Heavenly Father to help him be excited about going to church because he knew that is were He wanted him to be. :) What an awesome story! I loved hearing his growing testimony...and I love seeing how it is beginning to change his entire family!
Alessandra, Juliano´s girlfriend, is also progressing a lot! She comes to church every Sunday and is praying for an answer about the Book of Mormon. I think that her biggest fear is that she doesn´t want to be baptized because of Juliano´s testimony without knowing it for herself. Alessandra is such a sweet and pure girl...her faith and desire to do what is right is a huge example for me.
Antônia is still doing well...she has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and finds peace and comfort every time she reads it with her daughter, Tatiane. She is excited to be baptized and I know that she will be as soon as she is ready to make that step. I´ve never felt Heavenly Father´s love for someone so powerfully as I have for her and her family. I love them so much...
Okay, ready for the crazy story of the week? Actually, this might make the craziest story of the mission.... So it has been a very rainy and wet week that has left all of the streets deep and muddy puddles. On Thursday night, Sister Grant and I were going to one of our last visits of the day, Andréia and Odete, so it was already dark and cold and the rain was pouring down. Usually in Brazil you just clap your hands at the fence until someone hears and comes to let you in...but with the rain and the wind it was impossible for them to hear us clapping. We are already great friends with this family, so I didn´t think it would be a problem to walk in and knock on their door, right? Well..I opened the gate and starting walking in when suddenly, 4 huge and angry dogs ran out of their next-door neighbor´s unfenced yard and straight for me! I tried to run back to the gate, but couldn´t move quickly at all because I was sliding so much in the deep muddy clay. Luckily I had my umbrella in my hands and I started whacking at the angry dogs, but it think it just made them more mean and vicious. And then suddenly I slipped in the mud and lost my balance and fell down a little but steep hill and into the barbed-wire fence that lined their other neighbor´s yard... haha...it was crazy!! I completely knocked the fence over and cut up my hand pretty badly on the barbed wire, but I didn´t get bit at all by the angry dogs! I think maybe my screaming when I fell scared them away....and it must have scared the neighbors too because ALL of them suddenly were at their windows and standing outside their homes and just staring at me lying there in the mud. I had to wait for Sister Grant to stop laughing enough to come help me out of the barbed wire fence...and then the rest of the evening we couldn´t even teach a lesson because Andréia and Odete would burst out laughing again. :) haha...It was a crazy night...but really, I am amazed I didn´t get more than a cut up hand! It´s good to know that we´re being protected....although I´m slowly losing my love for dogs too.....
Okay..got to run! One hour left of P-day and we´re going to make chocolate chip cookies with Elaine and Presidente Rogério!
I love you all!!
Thanks for being the best family ever!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)