Hola família!

Thanks for sending all of your exciting news! It is really fun for me to hear about all the big changes and events going on in your lives. But don´t do anything too exciting while I am gone. I don´t want to miss all of these amazing events. Way to go Mom and Dad with all of your great missionary work! The members mean everything to us. We really couldn´t do any of this work without you and appreciate everything you offer. Thanks for going above and beyond just feeding dinner to the missionaries! It makes a big difference.

This was about the best week of my life! Sister Hoggan is absolutely amazing. We are very similar and both itching to work hard. We almost killed ourselves this week with working until dark and falling into bed dead every night, but it is so good. I have never been so tired but also so happy in my life. We are teaching lots of lessons and have had some miracle, spiritually strong lessons this week.

Sonia is doing great. We set a baptismal date with her for the first of February! We had two great lessons with her about the Book of Mormon and then the Plan of Salvation. She said the prayer at the end of one and cried and said that she could really feel a difference when we were there. The only problem is that she has difficulty attending Church. She lives right across the street and usually doesn´t have good excuses so we are a little concerned about that, but I believe she will be able to overcome her concerns and become baptized soon. I really hope it happens before I leave this area!

We also found a new family Susana, Elisvaldo, and their daughter this week. They were a reference that the other Elders found at the bus stop. It was actually pretty cool because Elisvaldo never takes the bus but his car just got broken into this week so he couldn´t use it for a while. He said he had been searching for the right church to raise his daughter with good morals and recognized that perhaps the elders were an answer to his prayers and that this experience was a blessing from God. They are reading the Book of Mormon now and seem very interested. I know that they will have challenges to overcome to fully accept all of the doctrine of Christ, but they said they would be baptized if they knew the Church was true.

We also had a really neat member present lesson with our friend Ana Furlan. We taught a young mom named Iara late one rainy night about the Book of Mormon and the power of Christ to overcome any hardship we face. Iara has been through A LOT and still is in the middle of a lot of challenges. She has never really been religious either so we are going to have to work slowly, but this was an awesome lesson. It made a huge difference to have a member there, especially with both Sister Hoggan and I being Americans. Iara cried and said we could come back any time.

Our main problem right now is helping people come to Church. We got up super early to try to visit and bring all three of these families to Church yesterday (even with members!) but no one answered the door or came. It is difficult because you want them to progress and experience the difference of our Church so badly, but there is only so much we can do. I feel like we did all we could do though and must now leave it up to the agency of our investigators.

Sister Hoggan and I did a fast this week to create goals for our companionship and transfer. We have the same vision and want to change a lot of the same things about our personal missionary work and personalities to improve. I am very blessed to be with someone so dedicated to the work and the gospel.

I am feeling such love for these people and am truly desiring their salvation. I wish I could bring everyone to the gospel of Christ! This is such a happy message and I am so happy to have the opportunity to share it with everyone. For the first time I am coming to understand a little bit of what Ammon meant in Alma 26:35-36. Doing the work of the Lord is so great and I just want to rejoice all the time. Life is hard but great!

Beijos, beijos!

Sister Marchant

P.S. Mom, could you send me a traditional brownie recipe? Lots of the members have been asking for one. They don´t make normal cookies or brownies here!

Presidente Brum!

Esta semana foi talvez a melhor semana em minha missão inteira! Eu amo Sister Hoggan! Ela é tão simpática e paciente. Eu posso ser mim mesma com ela e eu me sinto muito feliz e segura. Nós temos os mesmos metas e esperanças por esta área e nosso trabalho em geral. Eu estou muito animada trabalhar com ela e estar ainda nesta área.

A ala aqui é excelente. Com o novo Bispo Fabio tivemos um conselho da ala em domingo. Foi ótimo e eles têm um novo determinação fazer a obra missionária aqui. Acho que nós vamos ver milagres.

Tem tão muito trabalho fazer aqui! O campo realmente está branco para a ceifa. Agora com os Elderes no escritório em Campos Eliseos também, nós decidimos que Sister Hoggan e eu vamos trabalhar em todo de Campos Eliseos. Temos muitos pesquisadores visitar e muitos contatos contatar. Nós ensinamos muitos lições maravilhosas esta semana e nos sentimos o Espírito Santa forte; Eu nunca tenho estado tão cansada na missão, mas também eu nunca tenho estado tão feliz. Eu gosto de trabalhar duro e nós realmente estamos fazendo isso. Nós também fizemos metas pessoais e juntos para a transferência ontem, e acho que nós vamos ter sucesso quando estamos ajudando uma à outra. Nós vamos precisar usar o tempo nós temos para descansar ou nós talvez vamos matar nos mesmas, mas além disso, tudo e maravilhoso.

Esta transferência vai ser muito diferente da outra mas eu ainda vou ter desafios e provações. Deus sempre tem aluma coisa ensinar. Ele ensina em maneiras que eu nunca espera mais sempre são boas para mim. Estou muito grata ser missionária aqui e agora. Que bênçãos eu já recebi!

Um abraço,

Sister Marchant