No Transfer - Again!

Hello beautiful people. Without delay.... Did transfers even happen? I don't even know, because as far as I know, nothing changed.

That's RIGHT! I am still in Prossind, with Sister Moore. That's a good thing, too, because now we can finish her training. I was worried for a bit because Presidente said he was going to need me to train again. False alarm. But... perhaps the upcoming transfer, then?

So... Prossind. What a blessing. This place just has so much work to be done. I´ll be honest, I have mixed feelings. I am not too excited about another 6 weeks on the same roads with the same people that I´ve lost track of the number of times I have already talked to. Ha faz parte, hein? But... we have some pretty awesome families that we have found recently, so I think it will be great. Obviously, there is a reason Heavenly Father still wants us here.

Oh! Get this. We had 8 investigators in church on Sunday. Record! But of course, it is just going to be better next Sunday. Lógico! That was a huge blessing. The new way we are doing street contacts is really working out for us, and we have got some pretty prime pesquisadores. But, at the same time.... I have never had a teaching group with more problems- for one reason or another, everyone we are teaching is not getting baptized. Its been a struggle this month. Everyone is traveling too. It's been difficult, but we can definitely still see the Lord´s hand in the work.

Last night was a miracle lesson. We showed up at Eliane´s house. She wants to get baptized, but she has to stop smoking, and she is really struggling with will-power. We have prayed. And fasted. And prayed again. So we stopped passing by, but last night we showed up again to talk to her daughter, Andrea. Andrea wasn't home, so we asked Eliane how she was doing and she immediately informs us that she promised herself and Heavenly Father that she is finally going to stop smoking. I don't think it was a coincidence that we passed by last night- NOTHING in God´s work is a coincidence. We may think we have good luck from time to time, but in all reality- its always just part of His plan unfolding. Anyway, she said she had been reading the Book of Mormon and a part really caught her attention. She gets her book and opens up to 2 Nephi 31. Yes! Yes! Yes! The doctrine of Christ. Loooovvvvveeeee it. She said the part that hit her was the verse that talks about the commandments. That we really can't show our love for God or follow Him if we aren't willing to keep His commandments. It was a really sweet lesson to watch her read the chapter to us and learn all of this for herself. It taught me a lot about the way Heavenly Father works. I swear, I have already read that chapter to her, I had already promised her all of those things, but last night was when she finally got it- because she learned it for herself. She did her part. And in that moment, I couldn't be frustrated that she didn't listen to me earlier, or that it really wasn't anything new. In that moment, I was amazed, humbled, and grateful to have witnessed a miracle. And a miracle it was, because, yes, she took her sweet time to learn it, but what matters is that she DID. I think God sees us the same way. I don't think He cares how long it takes us to get there. I am sure it saddens Him when we waste time and deny blessings, but I really believe He just wants us to make it, and He will be there every step of the way until we do.

This idea made me think of parents in general.I am not a parent, but I know a few good ones- my parents topping that list. And I can only imagine how many tears they have cried and how many moments of frustration and despair they have passed through because of me. But I am grateful for their patience, and that even if I wouldn't ``take their word for it`` and apply everything they tried to teach me growing up, I am grateful that I did learn a thing or two eventually. And yes, it was always things they had tried to teach me earlier. I am definitely aware of the fact that it would have saved me a lot of heartache had I only listened. This is true for all of us, I'm sure. And so to those of you who are tired, who feel like you are failing because in a back- breaking way you are doing every possible thing imaginable to help someone you love come back, or stick through it, or get some sense through their heads, my plea to you is be patient and don't you ever give up. I am not going to promise you that the tears will dry. I am not going to give you the cliché phrase: ``Don't worry, it will all be okay. Because I know that soft words do little for hard circumstances. And though it means next to nothing, I can promise you that I know a little bit about what that feels like... But more importantly, I  can even more readily attest to the certainty I have that Heavenly Father knows exactly what that feels like because He has felt it for each one of us.

But that isn't to say there is not solution. It just may not always be the one we expect. I really don't believe that when we pray, our situations are instantaneously corrected or resolved. But I PROMISE you that if you have faith, you can pray for peace and it will hit you like a brick-wall until that day when He comes, and wipes away all our tears, eases our burdens, and our sorrows fade once and for all. Peace is real, and I believe it to be one of the most powerful gifts we have in this life. Pray for it, and it will come. That is my promise to you. Better yet, that is God´s promise to you.

It breaks my heart to hear of your struggles, but I am proud of each of you and the strength I see. You are doing great. Don't you dare give up. Stay strong. Press forward. This gospel is true. I have not a doubt in my mind. I remember being growing up with doubts and fears. But I URGE you to follow President Uchtdorf´s counsel and ``First, doubt your doubts BEFORE you doubt your faith.`` I promise you that if you seek to live the gospel, you will develop that unshakable testimony that it is true. That is how we have faith: Because we first acted on promised blessings. You have to act.

I love you all and am so grateful for your support. Have a wonderful week. Be safe. Take care. Help someone you know, because you don't know how bad they need it.

Until Monday.

Love, Sister M Seal

Katie- good luck with your last week, I need your mission address. Tchau.

PS Made that Texas Sheet cake. Safe to say my roommates love me :) THANKS A MILLION.

Changing Perspectives

Hmmmm.... I am getting lazy with these emails, arent I? Pois é. This one isnt going to be much better- so não fiquem chateados, ta cert?

I hope you guys are learning Portuguese, because I am definitely forgetting English. Skyping on Christmas will definitely be interesting.... Ha!

So can anyone even believe this? Transfers AGAIN. I swear I just barely wrote home about them. Yep! The 23rd. Questions of the week: Am I staying in Prossind? (Or am I going to Campina Grande- the coldest place on the mission... muahaha) Question numero dois: Is my companion going to train, or stay with me? Who knows? Presidente Nogueira.... Good thing I am learning to be a patient person... right?

Katie- Parabéns! I read your farewell talk, and I know you did a fabulous job! Way to go, girl! How nice is that to have it over with! Dont worry.... the next talk you give with be in Portuguese. Hahaha

And, Conner, congrats, you are killing debate! What a rockstar.

This was a good week. My perspective is really changing out here. My bishop gave me a list of inactives last week. I am shocked and saddened that 80 of the those baptized in this area are inactive, but at the same time, my companion and I are thrilled with a new way to work in this area.  We have a lot of new ideas and are determined to bring these people back. That is the call, isn't it? Rescuing those who are lost, the words of the prophet himself in the Liahona. There is so much work to be done here. Anywhere, really. Even in Utah.

We had a baptism marked for yesterday, but it fell through because her son got really sick- Dengue, if you know what that is. Nasty business. But, she is going to be baptized this week, which is awesome! Her name is Dagna, its the woman that came to church on her own, simply because she saw it through her apartment window. She is SO cool! When we invited her to be baptized this week, she just looked at me and said, ``Do you think I really even deserve it?`` Ahhhh, of course she does! It makes me SO happy to hear how excited she always is to go to church. She is already inviting all her friends and family. She LOVED conference- how simple all the doctrines are. Justamente! The gospel really is and should be simple.

Other news/ details  I may have missed:

People are actually telling me I speak well!!! wahooo!!!! And, the juice here just keeps getting better and better. Also, the weather? Everyone told me I would be dying by September, but it's already the middle of October, and I don't think the weather has really changed at all. It just rains a little bit less. But quite honestly, it still rains more than it does in Utah. In fact, as I type this email, it's raining! I LOVE LOVE LOVE rain. Which reminds me, how are you all liking the snow??? Is it even snowing yet?  Haha don't send pictures- I will get really, really jealous :) But, do be careful driving, folks.

Still loving the work here. This week is going to be GREAT! The last week of the transfer always is. And we are doing divisions! YES! All in all, I am excited to see all the changes. Cool news about transfers: Last transfer more sisters arrived than elders. This transfer, more sisters are arriving than elders too! Can you believe that? And with last transfer, and this next transfer, we will double the number of sisters in the mission. Where are all the missionaries going to go? President doesn't really know what to do either because it means we have to open a lot of areas, and I think they may send another companionship to my area. Cool, right? Ha just loving this work.

Thanks for everything. Gotta go- I am going to go make that texas sheet cake, finally! whoot! I LOVE you guys so much and wish you all success, happiness, health, and safety.

Tchau! Até mais (depois das transferencias! Wish me luck??)

Sister Seal

PS. Katie: SO SO SO proud of you.

Conference? Loved It!

WHOOT! CONFERENCE! LOVED IT! (Here is my request- note to Mom (will you send me Uchtdorf´s  and Holland´s talks? I want to print them off here. Thanks in advance).

Thanks for the birthday package. I am so excited about the Texas Sheet cake Dry Mix. I almost died. Yaáll should have seen my face. And the boys´cards had me laughing for a lot longer than I´d care to admit. Michael, watch your ego. But it's true. I HAVE THE GREATEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD..... amen!

So this week was good and hard at the same time. I found out that one of my recent converts is really sick and doesn't have much time left to live. That was a blow. That came out of nowhere. And despite all the tears and shock and grief, I felt so much peace and gratitude because she found it. She found the gospel. She found the very blessing we have in this life that thereby we understand that death is not permanent. Sorrow is temporary. Christ did everything. God knows everything. Hope is real. Peace is one of the most powerful gifts in life and we can have it, through the knowledge and understanding we have of the life our our Savior, and the teachings he left behind.

Yep, hard week- but it was also a week of perspective, and I am learning to be grateful for every tear- both of joy and heartache, because in both instances we can be grateful, and in either case, there is always something to learn.

I hope you all loved conference as much as I did, because I admit it- my companion and I were quite devastated when the final prayer was offered to close the meeting for another six months. Can we even wait that long??? Nooooooo......

But here are some ideas I had/ quotes I LOVED/ themes or ideas mentioned:

Dedication. Perseverance. Self-disciple. Meekness. Gratitude, grace, dignity. 

``Shall I falter or shall i finish?``

Abandon the script and the lesson becomes Christ´s

Decisions define Destiny. Amen!

Where are you willing to go? Faith points to the future...

``Fatigue is the common enemy to us all.``

``Don't assume you can fix everything, but fix what you can. If those are small victories, be grateful for them.``

``You must become the rock the river cannot wash away``

``Always doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.`` (Tell me how many times this was made a status on facebook. That was the coolest talk ever!)

And my personal favorite quote of the meeting: ``If the bitter cup doesn´t pass, drink it. And watch for the better days ahead.`` I think this says a lot...but I am not going to try to tell you what this idea means to me... because I will ruin it. But think about it- because it is more important what this means to YOU.

Overall, pretty much christmas. Loved Conference. We are so blessed to have a prophet who receives revelation from our loving Father in Heaven. I know that each of the messages can be directed and implemented in our lives. We just have to pray to know how.

Out of time. Love you guys. Tchau!

DREAM Mission

Fabulous week. As always. Joâo Pessoa is a DREAM mission. We are so so so spoiled. Especially in this area. Love it. :)

So... we had another baptism. Antônio. He was a miracle. We found him on the road, leaving his house a week ago, Saturday. I thought to myself, ``I really dont want to contact him- he looks like he is in a hurry...`` But, at the same time, we have to be obedient- and the idea is: TALK WITH EVERYONE. So I stopped him and found out he had actually already been to the church, quite a few times, in the past before he moved here to JP. So, after a lot of questions, we finally got him to agree to come to church the next day with us (last Sunday) and there at church, my district leader actually marked the baptism for the following Saturday. Yes, I know. My DL is the coolest kid in the world. Anways, he loved the meeting, we taught him in a week and baptized him and it was such a testimony to me that God really puts specific people in our path for a reason- and that we dont know who will be ready to accept the gospel. I had nearly the same experience with 2 more people this week who accepted baptism for this next sunday. We will see. Hopefully it all works out. We have such  great group of investigators. The only trick is getting them to go to church. They cant be baptized if they dont go to church. And a lot of them want to be baptized... but when sunday morning rolls around.... OOOPS. Ha! But its okay, we are doing all we can and I know that at the end of the day, Heavenly Father is in control.

Oh. Yeah. So a few ward members did throw me a surprise birthday party, which was SO sweet. Best cake balls EVER. It was good. I have a pic- but it is on Sister J´s camera, so i will try to get that soon. But, Sister J and her companion, Sister Willette also bought me a mickey mouse cake earlier that day, which was super sweet of them- so that, I DO have picture of. Dont mind how awful my hair is- you saw the cindrella pic which wasnt too long before getting that cake. Yes, that is my excuse. The other pic is with Jaqueline, my brazilian mother, at our baptism. She always gives me the raised eyebrow look. I just dont think she realized I am QUEEN of the raised eyebrow look.... hahaha love brasileiros.

Language is coming along really well- people are finally telling me I speak well, which means a lot. Brazil is just great. But, man! It is starting to get HOT. Haha oh well, totally worth it. Oh, cool news: our mission baptized 200 people this month. Amazing. The work is so great here.

Anyways, that is about it. I hope you are all doing well. Conner, good luck at the debate tournament. I love you all so much.

Wahooooooo conference this weekend! Could it be that time already? Goodness, this is better than Christmas. :)

Tchau!

Happy Birthday to ME !!

 

Hello! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! So far, it has been a good one. :) I hope Kim and Kate had a fabulous weekend too?

 

So... this week was great, but I spent like all of my time responding to family emails, meaning this will be the shortest email EVER. Desculpa. But, most important news: Cleonice was baptized yesterday! WAHOOOOO! It was SO great, we are so happy for her. She is one of the most amazing people I know- so willing to do whatever it takes to follow Christ. What an example. So I will send those pics... one with my companion and I with the woman of the hour, and another with Elder Morais, our distric leader, who baptized her. More baptisms to come, we have a great group of people that we are teaching right now. So be excited! :)

 

The other pic is of my scrubbing the floors on hands and knees this morning. Yes, Dad, I TOLD you I am Cinderella. Now I have proof. Ha this is how we spend birthdays in Brazil, I guess. Love it. Other than that, everything in Brazil is just great. We are finding some pretty incredible people and I am so blessed to be here, working in this area.

 

Oh! And the third pic is of Sister Johnson and I- we are crazy... most of our nights are like that- fools, the whole lot of us. Oh well. Já era. :)

 

Michael, have fun at homecoming. Conner, keep it up with debate! Logan, you sacked the quarterback. You make me proud, buggy. Katie, dont party too hard. ;) Skylar- LOVE you, gêmia. Oh, Ashley Dana, good luck on your mission!

 

Anyways, I love you guys. Sorry, this is pretty boring, but next week´s will be awesome!

 

Love,

Sister Seal

 

 

Sister Bassi and I

Sister Bassi and I at the bus stop the day of transfers... don't worry. We ended up calling a taxi- luggage on crazy brazilian busses..... mmmmmm. No thanks.

Happy Birthday Katie & Kim

I am going to apologize now. I have nothing. I mean really, I just emailed Wednesday.

 

It was a good week. C. came to church- hopefully she will be baptized Sunday, but we don't know yet, because she might want to wait and be baptized with the rest of her family. We have found some STELLAR investigators. Just loving life- loving this area. What a blessing.

 

My companion? Daughter #2. She is 19. She is a singer. From Colorado. With a HUGE, beautiful family. She is really nice. But, best of all, she WORKS. Man. She works HARD. She is scared of contacting on the street just as much as I am- but we set goals every day and we are actually doing really great with street- contacting. Fantastic! I was scared to have an American companion- but she speaks pretty darn well already. A lot of people here are hard to understand- so she has to get accostomed to their accents so for now I have to understand everything they say. I am so surprised- I understand way more than I realized. I know God is helping me and I am grateful every transfer for a new challenge because it forces me to improve. It's fantastic! The language is really coming. As Sister Bassi would say, YES! YES! YES! ...

 

Anyways. I also want to say Happy Birthday to Katie on Saturday and Kim on Sunday. Kate- I just don't think it matters that we are lightyears apart. I´m thinking we can still dress up like twins for three days strait and share a party, presents, and a cake. You game? Cool.

 

We have a few investigators that really struggle with addictions. We did a ``practice lesson`` in District meeting this week and I learned something super cool. A lot of the time people will say they want to change, but they don't know how.... They really don't need a miracle. All they need is faith. When we ask people what God means to them here- the answer is always the same. We say, ``Who/ what is God to you?`` They answer, ``Tudo.`` Meaning, everything. Sure! Makes sense. Concordo. But, think about this question. ``Who are YOU to GOD....`` Let me tell you something that I know: The answer is the same. YOU are everything to God. Every single one of my investigators means EVERYTHING to God. That means, He would and will do anything it takes to help us. So then maybe they will say, well, sure, He will help me. But I can't do it- I need time. What do you mean, exactly? Time? In all reality the best day to change is today because we never had any guarantee of tomorrow. In 6 days Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ created the whole world- ALL life. Undoubtedly in 6 days they can change YOUR life. Or in one day. Today. This moment. This instant.

 

It was a really cool meeting- I really like our district. Our DL is amazing. I think he is really going to help us out this transfer. Should be great. And I am still loving our ward, and this area. Even after 3 months. Hahaha.

 

So its starting to heat up here in JP. Big time. O gente. Its crazy- we are going to fry. But I am grateful we have had amazing weather up until now. Okay, so major street flooding almost every week isnt exactly amazing weather- but I love it. It keeps things interesting. The food is still great- we are always trying new things and I could almost already fill an entire recipe book. Yes, lucky family of mine... you just wait.... :)

 

Other than that, no real news. Next week's letter should be better. Desculpa. But, I love you all. You are great! Shout out to Papa, Grandma, Oma, Kim, and Mother. THANK you all SO much for your letters! Totally made my day today to hear from you! Tchau, tchau. Have a wonderul week.

 

Love, Sister Seal