Homework!

My message today: Read the talk by Elder Holland from the Oct. 2012 General Conference called, ``The First Great Commandment``- its STELLAR. (Conner, I am directing this to you especially, ok? Please read it and let me know what you think.)

I'm doing well- happy, healthy, working hard. No news. My companion is an ANGEL. I love her so much- she really understands sacrifice and service. She does EVERYTHING for me and never complains or asks for anything in return. She is a huge blessing and example. :)

Mmmmm, this week is the 4th of July. HAPPY 4TH! Send pics Paleeez! Wishing I could be there to watch the fireworks, but hey! We´ve already got plenty of them here with the world cup and crazy holidays. The world cup is da hora!!!! I hope you are all watching the Brazilian games (and US games too). Minha nossa. Sorry, folks, but I am 98% BRAZILIAN now. Hahahaha

Anyways, tomorrow is going to be legit- leadership training again. :) Last Thursday, I gave a district meeting training, because now I am the district leader of all the sisters in my zone, too. Ha. I talked about new beginnings. Read the talk, ``The Best is Yet to Come`` By Elder Holland. CHANGED MY LIFE. Seriousy. I know, I am a failure of a blog writer- I give you nothing but homework, but do it- these are the 2 talks that I ask you all to read this week- perfect Sunday activity. Or any day activity, as we should be studying the gospel everyday... you are all doing that right? Studying every day? Good.... 

Love you all. Have a great week! Smile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy JULY!

Love, 

Sister M. Seal

No. No transfer calls for me.

No. No transfer calls for me, anyway. The 3 sisters I was living with were all transferred, but I am staying in Mamanguape. Whoot! But...I have a new companion. Good and bad. I really loved Sister Chap. I liked her a LOT! She became one of my best friends a lot faster than I thought possible. But... it’s also good because she wasn't testing me- she may have been too perfect. Now I am with Sister Caiani. And guess what! SHE’S BRAZILIAN! Yes! I get to work on my Portuguese again.

Highlight of my week: I SAW JAQUELINE IN JOÃO PESSOA! We had to go to the doctors because my companion was sick and Jaqueline met us for lunch. Best day ever! She seems to be doing well. We ate in a huge supermarket that looks like a real Wal-Mart. I didn't know they had supermarkets here that chic! But... man was it expensive- most expensive meal of my mission. A plate that should have been $8 was $26. (You weigh the plate on the scale... but don’t freak out- it wasn't that much food, gosh I’d have died) I put the receipt in my journal. It made me a little bit upset, but we've just got to laugh, right?

It’s raining like CRAZY here and the world cup is going well- not too many crazies.. hallelujah. This Saturday there is another game- should be interesting, I am pretty sure if we lose its over- but I don’t know- I don’t play soccer. haha

That’s really about it. Sorry I’m so boring haha but.... já era. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!! Talk to ya, Monday! ;)

PS. My camera had like 20 viruses, it shut my friends computer down- so he had to clean it all up and now it’s back, but the computers in this city don’t have virus protection, so I won’t be emailing pics as often anymore- just at members’ houses. Sorry. But, just to let you know. :) Tchau!

Viva Brasil!!!!!!         

World Cup Crazy

AHHHHHHH! I fixed my camera! Yes! Take that, Katie! I can work with technology toooooo... It may just take me a little bit longer..... :P

Sorry, that ridiculous outburst has been a long time coming. 

Happy Fathers Day! (Special shout out to Daddy, Papa, and Craig!) Also, Oma, Happy birthday this week! Whoot whoot!

Good week as always. Everything goes crazy around here the day Brazil plays in the world cup- but it keeps things fun, right? For those of you who don't know, Brazilians are craaazzzzyyyy. And, I love them :)

News: This week marks 1 year here in Brazil. I remember my first day well, and man has a lot changed. I've changed. You´ve changed too. It all seems like a dream to me. And boy does it go quickly. I remembering eating corn- thats what we eat this time of year (São João). A year ago, I wasn't a big fan, but these days its painful to think I will soon leave it all behind: The traditions I love... the people I love... 

Speaking of days passing quickly- this is the last week of this transfer. So, I will be emailing again next Wednesday in 10 days time. Of course I will not be transferred, I just got here, but it is interesting to begin my last 2 transfers when people begin to say “Your mission is over- you´re dying now”. Its horrible really, people don't stop with the jokes and the teasing haha. I guess I´ll get used to it. 

I read the Character of Christ this week, it was good to read again to remind me of the vision I had when I left the MTC. I highly recommend it to all of you who have never read it and even if you have, its always good to read again. Another good read is Clayton M. Christensen´s book, “The power of everyday Missionaries”. Get a copy of this book and it will change the member missionary that you are! Seriously, this book has changed the way I see my role as a member of the church. We have great responsibility. We also have great responsibility to KNOW, in the first place, what that great “responsibility” is.

A few quotes I read this morning, the first by David O. McKay, “Mans greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.”

I think the first step in learning to lose ourselves in the service of others is to prioritize our lives. Thomas S. Monson said, “We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we are doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the `thick of thin things`. In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting the most important causes.”

Yes, its true, the “most important causes” require effort- its takes work, usually work that isn't easy, and often found tiresome. But as Henry B. Eyring said, beautifully, “When I find myself drawn away from my duties or by other interests and when my body begs for rest, I give myself this rallying cry: `Remember Him`.”

Faith and Miracles

Morning!

Good week here—always is, right?

We had a leadership meaning Tuesday and our zone meeting Wednesday- they both went really well. Our new focus here is less actives! Love the idea, this mission really needs it too. Glad for yet another proof that our mission president is inspired. 

This week Jose and Fia were baptized. It was really awesome. :) God is really helping us in His work here. 

I am doing well- its starting to rain a lot here, again. Love the rain. Love the work, couldn't be happier. You´d also be pleased to know that I am mastering a few cake recipes down here- cakes every week for every baptizing... and I wonder why I am a little chubbier. HA! 

Zooeira. Anyways, everything is going well here- my companion is awesome. This branch is great, too. Yesterday, in sacrament meeting, Elder Carbonie came to talk to us- he is one of Pres. Nogueira´s counselors. Every time I see him he says, "Sister Seal, I know your father." Funny, right dad?

So happy to hear that you seem to be doing well- all of you are doing such great and exciting things- keep it up. I cant wait to catch up with you all in a few months time. And no- I don't want to talk about how little time that may be. Minha nossa, how it flies!

This morning I was studying faith and miracles. 2 Nephi 27:33, "For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith." 

I think miracles are a lot like salvation in the sense that yes, "`his grace is sufficient" but it also requires work on our part. We work to qualify for eternal life and we work to qualify for miracles. We cant merely wait around for a miracle to fall into our laps. Quite frankly, miracles rarely come when we are sitting anyway...

Having faith to see miracles doesn't mean we just believe someday maybe one could or would or might or should happen. The reason faith is a pre-requisite is because faith means we ACT. Ether 12:30 says, ``For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved wherefore thou workest after men have faith.`` 

We hear about this "faith to move mountains" all the time. I've also heard it said that if you looked behind that "moving mountain", you would see a bunch of people pushing it. 

Real faith is in our works not our words. 

This was a good lesson for me to learn this morning- and definitely one I have seen in action time and time again here in Brazil.

I LOVE being a missionary. And, I love all of you. Have a great week and may God be with you till we meet again.

Love, Sister M. Seal

These pictures are from a different camera- I think mine has a virus because they wont upload. I am going to start using a different memory card. SORRY. Dad or Katie need to fix it!!!! Love you all! Smile!

Trekking to Guarabira

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL..... Send me a pic of your diploma because I still don’t believe it ;)

To all of you still in school- finish strong. And, happy summer!

This was a great week- they always are, but this one was especially good thanks to the mission conference and Maya´s baptism. Pics... are coming soon.

This week looks great too- tomorrow I have a leadership meeting in Joao Pessoa. (YES- get to see my buddies again and prep up to do the zone training Wednesday- its gonna be great!)

Moving on- let’s talk miracles. Friday night the sisters in Guarabira were needing help so my companion and I decided to travel to their area to help them out. tudo bem. We got the phone call at 5 and decided to leave immediately. But... we obviously didn't think it through very well because little did we know- traveling after 6 pm is stupid, really stupid. Instead of $10 per person, the price shot up to $50 for the both of us ONE way (Taxi prices..pshh.) and honestly, it probably wasn't the safest thing we have ever done, either. Well, you all know me, I am stubborn and REFUSED to pay $50. Ridiculous. Instead, we trekked over to a street corner where drivers pass for a better price. (Uh, yes, basically Brazilian hitch-hiking) but.... no one was passing by. I didn't realize how difficult it is to travel here at night. So, we said a prayer that somehow we could get to Guarabira safely to help the sisters. Just then, a woman showed up, also waiting for a taxi- she asked where we were headed to. Our luck was that she was going to a neighboring city. (good- now we have a travel buddy) then she said, ``You're sisters!`` Music. To. My. Ears. And then said, ``I am Mormon, too!``

What??????????

She offered, ``You can come with me, my nephew is coming to get me right now.`` After talking for some time, we find out that she has been inactive for a very long time... it was so sweet to hear her sing along with us the words to Nearer My God to Me and other hymns she remembers after so long. But the story gets even better- a friend of hers showed up and started asking us about the church and she so enthusiastically answered all the questions and said, ``come to church with me Sunday, I will take you!`` He accepted her invitation and i was so impressed with this woman and the member missionary she was without even realizing it. Even more impressive was finding out that the reason she was at that street corner was because she had missed her bus from Joao Pessoa. I believe gods hand was in that. Honestly, I see God’s hand in all of it. I cant even count how many prayers were probably answered that night. 

Long story short- we made it to Guarabira and yes, I promise to never do that again.

This morning, too, was one of learning. It was an interesting day at the bank. There were huge lines and one girl decided to cut everybody- joining in with a buddy right in front of me. There was an uproar- everyone began to yell at her- complaining that they´d been waiting in line for an hour and that she had no right to be so selfish.... etc. It was astonishing how quickly they became angry. My companion and I looked at each other, sadly, as they attacked her, calling her an idiot, uneducated blonde. It was appalling. I stood in silence, remembering the video I watched on Tuesday in the mission conference about the Savior. It showed a story of Pharisees and tax collectors. In the movie, the people were screaming at the tax collector, calling him a thief and every other manner of cruel language. Jesus looked at the Pharisee and spoke of prayer. He said, wo unto the hypocrites who pray to God saying, ``Thank you Lord for letting me be better than the sinners in the streets- more holy, more like thee``... on the other hand, Jesus said that Our Father in Heaven is more willing to hear the prayer of the sinner, of the ``tax collector`` who calls to heaven, ``Have mercy on me, Lord, for I know that I am a sinner``. I am not saying who is right and who is wrong in the situation I saw at the bank today. But as the crowd attacked her with hatred and harsh words telling her she was ``wrong`` or that her actions were not ``just or fair`` I thought of Christ. I thought to myself, truly Christ cares little about what is ``just `` or ``fair`` or ``equal``. Christ is much more concerned with mercy...

This is not to condone cutting in line or other uncommon and unnecessary behavior. No. But it is to say, may we be more merciful. May we be more patient with others and their weaknesses for surely god is well aware of them in each of us and knows the path we need to take to overcome them. May we remember God’s mercy towards us even and especially in the moments we least deserve it and may we leave our hypocritical tendencies alone, aside, and far, far away.

This is the message I wish to leave with you today and this week. May we remember the savior in all we do and learn to act as He would is my prayer.  Have a great week. Be safe. ``Be good``- Kim. 

Sister M. Seal

Bia's Miracle

Schools out for summer, eh? Congratulations Michael- graduation this week! YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR- I knew you would do it! Conner, when is nationals? To all of you teachers and students- just go hard and finish strong. You´ve got this!

This week was great. We had 2 baptisms: Bia and Italo. Bia is a teenager - the last in a family that was baptized a month ago. Hahaha even the rebellious come around eventually. She is just the cutest girl. Love her. See below to hear about her miracle story. Italo is a 12-year-old boy who decided immediately after visiting last Sunday that he wanted to be baptized and the best news is that his mom is hopefully going to be baptized this week too! Families!

With my new calling, I got to go on splits this week (actually I go on splits every week, but this week was AWESOME! I went out with my daughter! Aka, my ex-companion that I trained- Sister Bassi. She is so great! I LOVED working with her again; it is so funny to me that she is with my most recent companion working in my area now. I am kind of thinking Bassi and I worked a lot together before this world began, if you know what I mean. Ah.... soul sisters. Haha I feel that way about all of my companions- love every single one of them to death! The trick is teaching them to deal with ME! Haha :D

So this 40-day fast I am doing is changing my mission. I am feeling the spirit much more strongly than I have in a long time- its like a part of my greenie fire is coming back. Testifying brings tears these days and I feel every word I am saying to these people. Accompanied with that desire is a really proud love for each of my investigators. Its SO cool. Speaking of the 40-day-fast... I guess its a talk or story related by Elder Gene R. Cook called purification or sanctification. Try googling it on the internet and it should bring up this 40-day-challenge. You are invited to try it with me. And, speaking of the challenge, I wanted to share a few quotes I read this morning about sacrifice. The first 2 are by Neal A. Maxwell.

“Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us on the altar and letting it be consumed!”

“The submission of one´s will is placing on God’s altar the only uniquely personal thing one has to place there. The many other things we ``give`` are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.”

“sacrifice is the key. The Lord will not deal with you on any other basis. It is the key to controlling the powers of Heaven.” - Hartman Rector Jr. 

Then, 2 quotes from the talk itself, ``there is no limit to what you can do if you and the Lord believe that you can. If you look to Him for your strength and are willing to make the sacrifice, all things are possible.”

``You will find that as your spirituality increases, you will be literally impelled to overcome your ´failings.´”

Loved the message. Give it a shot. You will be amazed at the miracles Heavenly Father will work in your life.

And.... how does this week look? Well, tomorrow we have a mission tour again. YES. ONE. OF. THE. BEST. THINGS. THAT. HAPPEN. HERE. I will let you know how it goes. And...more splits. Should be good. I love going back to Guarabira to work with the sisters there. Tomorrow makes 14 months. Geeesh. Getting old, aren't I?

Ok. I promised to write about Bia´s miracle. So, Bia initially had no desire whatsoever to be baptized. So, we watched the restoration with her. I was a little worried when the audio stopped working and she was hardly paying attention while doing her sisters hair. But, we stuck with our plans and I began to read the subtitles to her- which allowed for discussion as the movie continued to play. I believe it turned out better that way, to be honest. Then at the end, we asked her if she believed it, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. She said yes. We then asked her if she knew that this meant that this is the only true church. Again, she said yes. We asked her then what it is exactly that makes her not want to be baptized... she kept quiet for a long time. She had talked earlier about being tired of getting baptized because she´d already been twice before in different churches. (This was the reason for hitting hard on the first lesson). After a long silence I said, ``Its because you haven't prayed yet, isn't it...`` She nodded and we invited her to pray with us that minute to close up the lesson. She refused to pray for about 6 or 7 minutes. We talked to her, testifying of how much her father in heaven wants to hear her and finally, she agreed to pray using a ``missionary speak, investigator repeat pattern``. When it came time for her to thank and ask for blessings, she did so alone, but she didn't ask for an answer... So, I told her in the prayed to ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet. She kept quiet for a long time. I changed the question, telling her to ask for the strength to be baptized Sunday. Again, she wouldn't speak. After a long pause, we knew she was done- she wouldn't say anything else. So, we closed the prayer and standing up, I asked her why she wouldn't speak.... and asked her if she knew these things were true... She looked at me with eyes seriously sparkling as she said, I know its true. I asked her how she felt during the prayer and she said, ``Its funny, because I really didn't want to be baptized but when you told me to ask those questions, I felt something.`` I asked her if she knew that God wanted her to be baptized. She said yes. I asked her, ``So, are you going to be baptized...``She asked if she could give me an answer next week when her sister (recent convert) shouted out, ``Oh woman just get baptized already!`` I looked at her sister, shocked really, and said, ``you really want her to get baptized don't you...`` Her sister responded, ``Yes, and I know she will, the day i was baptized i dreamed that bia got baptized the same way i did.`` And in that moment, when her sister testified like that, Bia jumped for joy, grinning from ear to ear and said, ``I will!`` And then everyone was hugging and laughing and honestly, I walked out of there just wanting to cry. Folks, THAT is the power of prayer. This is God´s work, and He gives His children answers- it was another testimony to me of the power of prayer and a testimony that the Spirit converts God´s children- He speaks to them. He really does. That is the power of prayer, and that is the power of love (love between 2 sisters that may or may not have made me think of my own. Shout out to Katie).

Anyways, I hope the story made sense, as you know, I am always in a hurry. But I LOVE this work. I love this Gospel. I love being a missionary- this is my life- the best I have ever lived it. Its everything I never knew I needed.

Have a wonderful week- proud of you all. Love you all. Thinking of you all. Sorry, still don't have pics- I will fix that. 

Loving Mamanguape

Loving Mamanguape. The only problem: the mosquitoes do too.... So my legs look like I have the chicken pox- all the time hahaha oh the joys of living in a jungle. 

We had a baptism yesterday- Izac. It was really cool. Other cool news: Maria´s (recent convert) daughter, Tieli was baptized yesterday!!! She is a girl I was teaching when I left. YES!

Bad news: I don't know what is wrong with my camera cord... I cant seem to upload pics anymore. I am trying to work something out but I think I am just going to have to buy an card adapter to just upload directly from the memory card instead of using the cord. We will see. But, that means, no pictures, again. Not my best news either because I have some pretty great pics I am dying to send home. 

This was a great week. We worked HARD! We had a leadership training Friday and I was feeling really stressed about that- but I know Heavenly Father fits us to every calling to which He calls us. We are never left in our own strength while in the Lord´s service. 

I love my companion. She is super chic! She is from Chile, and is 19. Shes an only child- her parents both served missions and we get along really well. This transfer is just going to be great, I can tell. As for my area, its basically Guarabira, but without hills. Score. I am liking my new branch too- everyone here is really nice. 

I got 2 packages this week. HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MOM AND KIM! Thank you. I also got some pretty great letters. Thank you so much. In one of Kim´s letters, she shared a scripture that I LOVED and wanted to share with you all today. Isaiah 25:8-9 : “He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all the faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; and we have waited for him and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Waiting is a really interesting idea- one we as members of the church have a greater understanding of that than the rest of the world. That is a privilege. May we not forget that waiting and patience do not mean giving up on the righteous desires of your heart; it only means working with all your might, and accepting not only the Lords will, but His timing.  That is the way the Lord works miracles- through our faith, patience, prayers, and diligence.

I read a quote this morning by Neil L. Andersen, “Miracles are not always so immediate. At times, we thoughtfully wonder why the miracle we have so earnestly prayed for does not happen here and now. But as we trust in the savior, promised miracles will occur. Whether in this life or the next, all will be made right. The savior declares: ``Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.” “In the world ye shall have much tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world`` (John 16:33). I testify that as you love Him, trust Him, believe Him, and follow Him, you will feel His love and approval. As you ask, “What Christ thinks of me?” you will know that you are His disciple, you are His friend. By His grace He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself. 

“In a future day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Christ. On that day, our concern will not be, `Do others consider me Christian?’ At that time our eyes will be fixed on Him, and our souls will be riveted on the question, ‘What Christ thinks of me?’”

Perhaps the greatest miracle of my week was an idea that my district leader shared with us on Thursday. It is a 40-day fast. Obviously not of food and water.... but of behaviors. My invitation to each of you is that you participate, because I can already see a difference in my life and in my work. If you would like to participate, here is what you do:

You start with a regular fast (the 24 hour without food) asking during those 24 hours that Heavenly Father shows you 10 things you need to change to become more Christ-like, It could be things you do, things you don't, fears you have... etc. After your fast, you make a covenant with Heavenly father that you are going to change, according to these 10 ``commandments`` He gave you. You begin your 40-day fast by saying this prayer, making this covenant, and in return, you ask for NOTHING. Don't ask for special blessings or more success... etc. Just ask for the strength to change according to His will. This is your purification/ sanctification process. 

I absolutely loved the idea. I don't know if I explained it well enough, but I hope it made sense. It is only an invitation, and if you decide to do so, I would love to know! I promise you that you will see miracles- ones you weren't expecting or asking for but ones Heavenly Father wants to give you. Good luck. 

That's about it for today... I love you all so much, thank you for your support. Be safe, have a wonderful week! :)