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

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

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

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

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