On the verge of a miracle

Oí Familia Gee!

Como estão todos vocês? Eu estou xíque demais!!!! Which means, I am doing GREAT!!! :)

This was a wonderful week in Rio Pardo for Sister Corrêa and me! Let me tell you why....

Last Thursday after emailing, Sister Corrêa and I went to teach Kátia and Carlos the Word of Wisdom. Kátia smokes a pack of cigarettes a day and has told us that she has already tried several times to stop, but never has been able to. So that day when we went to teach the whole family about the Word of Wisdom. And wow...I´ve never had a lesson so dificult to teach! The phone kept ringing, neighbors kept entering and leaving, the children were playing and interrupting.... and it felt like NO ONE was understanding or even listening to what we were trying to teach! When we asked them, at the end of the lesson, if they were willing to live the Word of Wisdom...Kátia just started laughing and told us that she had no desire to stop drinking coffee and that she already knew that it was impossible for her to stop smoking. :( Sister Corrêa and I left their home that day feeling very discouraged.... and I was already thinking that their baptism was not going to happen as quickly as we had thought...

But then Sister Corrêa reminded me of something ...(and this is one of the many reasons why I love her so much :D) She said, very confidently and optimistically...."You always know when you are on the verge of a miracle, because you start to feel Satan work harder than ever to make you discouraged!" :D

And it is true! If we weren´t scaring him so badly, he probably wouldn´t even be trying to work against us :D haha....well, if anything, her comment made me laugh and feel much happier!

So we decided that we weren´t going to be discouraged so easily and decided to try again the next night.... and this time to be sure to prepare ourselves very well before trying to teach again. Sister Corrêa and I spent the whole hour of companionship study finding scriptures and quotes from prophets and studying the Word of Wisdom and decided to pray and fast for extra help.

And the difference was amazing! Friday night the whole family was there for the entire lesson...listening and participating and asking questions. Carlos and the children were even giving ideas for things that they could do to help Kátia stop smoking.... When we invited Kátia again to live the Word of Wisdom and stop smoking and drinking coffee, her response was a much more humble "Yes, I will try."

Sister Corrêa and I were VERY anxious to go back the next day and see how she was doing with the goal....We made a poster with a quote from Emma Smith "Strength is not something you have, it is something that God helps you find!" with the picture of Jesus Christ helping a little boy cross a river. .... When Kátia opened the door, she greeted us with a smile and a light in her eyes that I have Never seen in her before!! She told us that she hadn´t smoked a single cigarette all day long and that she was feeling so happy and light inside! I asked her how she was doing it and she said "This morning, I woke up, read a few verses from the Book of Mormon, and prayed for God to help give me strength...and He is helping me!" :) What a beautiful testimony...it is wonderful to see her faith growing! I think I have never felt happier!

:D :D :D I am so happy...I really love that family! Last night we read with them all from the Book of Mormon, each one taking turns reading a verse, and I felt like I was home again with you all! It is amazing the feeling of love and peace and happiness in their home now...in just the few weeks that I have known them, I can really feel the change that the gospel of Jesus Christ is making in their lives! And this is the joy of being a missionary :)

Another quick story about another wonderful person that I love here. Vanessa is a young mother that I met on the bus going to Santa Cruz for a district meeting. She lives an hour away from Rio Pardo in an even smaller town called Pântano Grande...and I´m pretty sure that people there haven´t even heard about the church yet. But she was really interested in the church...especially in the Book of Mormon and was very excited to read it. She gave me the address of her friend in Rio Pardo, Ana, who she stays with when she studies in Santa Cruz.

Ana is such an amazing person!! I could tell from the minute that I walked into her house that she is a very loving person and very loved by everyone who knows her. She has 7 kids...all grown-up and married, and a bunch of grandchildren. Her house is always full of family and friend and neighbors...all day long! We taught her about the restoration and pulled out the Book of Mormon to show her...and to our surprise she said "Oh! I have one of those!" She told that her husband had been given the book from a friend when he was sick in the hospital a year ago. For the 4 months that he stayed in the hospital before passing away, he had been reading and studying the Book of Mormon. Ana said that she had already read parts herself and really found comfort in some of the words that she had found in the Book of Mormon, especially in the hard and lonely moments after her husband had died. Wow...it is amazing how the Lord is always there for us, for each one of us, in the moments that we are seeking for his help! He is our very loving Father and He is so good to us!

I am so happy to be a missionary! I love the people that I am meeting each day! The gospel of Jesus Christ blesses and changes lives! We are so blessed :)

I love you family!!! Have a wonderful week!! Love, Sister Jamie Gee