Aló querida família!!!
Hello from Rio Pardo!!
What a wonderful and fun week here in Rio Pardo!! Last Monday night Sister Corrêa and I made cookies to celebrate her last night in Rio Pardo, and then we left for Santa Cruz early Tuesday morning. I stayed in Santa Cruz all day Tuesday with the sisters there and with Sister Hughes who was also waiting for her new companion. It was their P-day, so they took us to a beautiful park in Santa Cruz, O Parque da Gruta, where the early indians used to live. The park is full of trees, plants, waterfalls and caves to explore....and my favorite part....monkeys!!! :) There were dozens of monkeys in all of the trees...just swinging and jumping around us! haha...it was great.
Sister Grant is amazing!! She is from Yakima, Washington (she says she knows some Stahls from Yakima!) and she is super fun and sweet. She speaks Portuguese really well too and isn´t afraid to teach and bear her testimony...even when she isn´t absolutely sure if she knows how to say it. It´s a great example to me. Sister Grant is so full of great ideas and excitement from the MTC....it´s very contagious and wonderful. I can tell that this transfer is going to be amazing!!
The members are sooo amazing here too! I know I´ve said it a million times...but it´s very true... Yesterday we got a call from the assistents (that always makes me nervous! haha...) When I answered they just said, "Sister Gee...we just wanted to call and congratulate you and Sister Grant on the work last week in Rio Pardo....and to ask you a question.....what do you do to get so many investigators to go to church on Sunday???" Haha... it made me laugh. But really, what we do is very very little! It is the branch here that is on fire with missionary work and they just bring their family and friends with them! Every week! I think that the greatest hint to missionary work that I have learned here in Rio Pardo...use the members! They are the ones that make the work happen.
My favorite story of the week was when we met Juliana´s sister, Daiane. She is 19 years old and works in Santa Cruz, so we had never met her before, but Juliana had told her about our visits and showed her the Book of Mormon that we gave her. Daiane starting reading a few weeks ago and yesterday, when we met her for the first time, she told us that it is her favorite book and that she has already read over half of it. She told us that she didn´t have very much faith in God before, but now when she is reading the Book of Mormon, she can feel that He is near and that He is talking just to her. :) Daiane is so amazing!! We told her that it was the Holy Ghost that she was feeling, telling her that the book is true and invited her to be baptized so that she can have that feeling. Daiane has so much faith...its amazing how humble she is and how quick she is to recognize the spirit.
And do you remember Márion?? Kátia and Carlos´ oldest son...he´s 21 and has been going to church with his family ever since they were baptized and he´s preparing for his own baptism right now. He loves elders quorum and is reading with his Dad every night from True to the Faith ...I´m thinking future missionary :) :) :) We are going to invite Paulo, another young man who has been coming to church for the last few months, to be baptized on the same day as Márion. Paulo is so amazing! He has a strong testimony of the church and has wanted to be baptized a few months ago, but because he owns a tatoo salon and he knows that tattoos go against the prophet´s counsel he decided that he wanted to find a new job before becoming a member of the church. Last week he told us that he found another job and that he is going to give up his tattoo salon. He said that his friends think that he´s crazy...but that he knows that he´s doing what is right. Paulo has so much faith! I have met so many people this last year that have so much faith and desire to do what is right that they are willing to make so many sacrifices and changes in their lives, just trusting in the Lord that He will bless them and that everything will work out. When we have this kind of faith and move forward with confidance in the Lord He can bless us so much! I love being a missionary and having this year and a half to teach the message of the gospel to so many people that I love....but it seems like in the end, I am the one that always ends up learning from all of them! :)
Well, I´m happy to hear that you are all happy and having fun! That´s crazy that it´s still so cold in June! It´s getting cooooold here too. Really really cold....I didn´t even know that it got this cold in Brazil. But I guess I shouldn´t complain because it sounds like you´ve all been living with this for the last 6 months! At least I had a nice hot Christmas :) But don´t worry...Sister Grant and I are staying warm with a lot of coats and blankets (I sleep with 4!) and drinking a lot of chimarrão. That´s the drink you saw in the picture Dad...it´s made out of herbs "mate" and hot water and it´s amaaaazing. I´ll bring lots home for you to try next Christmas :)
I love you alll!!!
Thanks for everything!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee
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