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
No comments:
Post a Comment