New area! Novo Hamburgo

Querida famíla,

Hello dear family.....from Novo Hamburgo!! :)

Novo Hamburgo is a very beautiful city....and sooooo different than Montenegro. First of all....compared to Montenegro, this city is huge!! I was used to corn fields and calm grassy pastures and dirt streets....and suddenly I´m in a busy bustling city. The area is 6 times bigger than Timbaúva....and the investigators we are teaching live miiiiiiles apart. And minha nossa!! Hills!!!! I´ve never seen bigger hills....the entire city is like Timpview drive!!! haha.... my legs and feet were reeeeally complaining the first few days, but I´m quickly adjusting (I´m just talking about blisters and sore muscles....my sesamoid bone is just fine, Mom :D)

We live in a apartment building on the 8th floor and have a beautiful view of the whole city. It really is a beautiful city...very green! I will have to send pictures next week :)

Sister Oliveira is amaaaazingly fun! She has 9 months on the mission and is from São Paulo and I don´t think I´ve ever met anyone in my entire life that has so much energy and love for life! She is soooo happy! Always smiling and glowing and bursting with excitement. It makes it really easy for me to feel happy and excited about the missionary work too...so much that this week, even though our days are still packed full with lessons and appointments, hasn´t even felt like work! It´s just fun :) We are always laughing and singing all day long... in the streets, in our apartment, in the elevator, for the doorman in our apartment...haha, it´s very fun and I am loving it.

We have amazing investigators here right now! It was a really fun week getting to know all of them...and we also were busy with more of the "Mundo Feliz" DVD references. My favorite experience of the week was our lesson with a man named Manoel. Manoel is 40ish years old, has no family and lives alone, and makes his living by selling lanches (hotdogs and empanadas) in the streets......and I have never met anyone more Christ-like in my life. Manoel has amazing faith and love...you can see it in his eyes and on his face. Manoel also has leukemia and has been very very sick the last few months. We visited with him on Saturday night with Daniel and Gisele (members in the ward that gave us his name) and he really liked the lesson! We taught him about the restoration of the gospel and he was really interested and excited for us to come back ....

But the next day, Sunday, Daniel and Gisele said that he had suddenly gotten so sick during the night that he had been admitted in the hospital. So right after church, Sister Oliveira and I rushed to the hospital to visit him. When we entered the hospital, we were informed that regular visiting hours had ended for the week, but that as religious missionaries we would be allowed to enter to visit him. It was very humbling to see...instead of hospital rooms, each person was assigned to small hospital cots that lined both sides of the narrow and dark hallway. It was very crowded and very noisy, with nurses and doctors squeezing past....but when we found Manoel he was brimming with happiness and light! His bright and happy smile seemed very out of place in that chaotic and depressing place... He asked us if he could say a prayer with us, and during the prayer he thanked Heavenly Father for the chance he had to be in the hospital to be a light for the people that were suffering. His prayer was very sincere and humble...it felt like a real conversation with Heavenly Father. Manoel has so much faith!

Manoel had another visitor, a young woman named Kátia, with him.....she was staying in the hospital with her very sick brother that had already been there for 3 months. Sister Oliveira and I didn´t know how long we would be able to stay before being kicked out, so we just visited with them both for a little while... As we were leaving I had the thought to ask his friend if she would like a Book of Mormon....but because we were in a hurry and because we hadn´t even talked about the church to her, I just dismissed the thought. Instead I just gave her a hug and asked her if there was anything we could do for her......and do you know what she asked for??? She asked if we had some kind of book that she could read because the hours passed really slowly in the hospital and she wanted something to get her mind off her sick brother. !!!! Haha...I said, yes of course we had a book for her. A very special book. A book called the Book of Mormon. :) ...haha, It was a strong reminder to me that we should never doubt or hesitate when we receive a prompting from the Holy Ghost. Just act! I know that we can be led in every moment if we choose to listen. It was also a testimony to me that this is the Lord´s work and that He is helping us every day...Even if we aren´t perfect, as long as we are trying He won´t let us fail. Heavenly Father is so kind. I know that He loves each of us so much!

Well family, remember that I love you! You are all always in my prayers. I am so excited to talk to you on Christmas Day!!

Love always,

Sister Jamie Gee