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
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