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

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

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

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

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