From: Eliza Marchant

Date: 04/21/14 13:02:27

To: Jewel Marchant;  Gary Marchant

 

Olá bonitas!

Happy Easter! And a happy Easter it has been. Yesterday was wonderful. It started out with Irmã Debora giving her first lesson for the Young Womens. She asked us to come the first week to help and support her, especially since she doesn´t have councilors yet. She likes to talk a lot and talks even more when she is nervous so she was going a mile a minute, but she had a strong testimony and it was GREAT to see her growing and changing so much. She comes closer to Christ even week and is slowly but surely gaining a deep testimony of the Restoration and of her Savior. She also came to Church in a skirt for the first time this week! A lot of people here are anti-dresses and skirts. Although Debora´s husband has zero interest in the Church he likes us because we make Debora happy and he likes the great ways she is changing too. He bought her three new skirts this week and a few blouses and she wore them and was modest and looked beautiful. It has been so great to see her transformation from the very beginning. Up til now Debora is the miracle of my mission.

We also started teaching this other family this week who live in the back of this sketch alleyway. They were a reference from the Elderes who made a street contact with their son, Jeferson. We went there for the first time on Wednesday at night when it was raining really hard, so we were a little nervous at first, but they let us right in and they were great. They live in this small house that is falling apart but it is so full of love. There are at least three generations living there and a bunch of inlaws and babies running around, I can´t keep them all straight! They have had a hard past but are willing to listen and have huge faith in God. We taught Jeferson and an in law Taisa the Restoration this week and they were really attentive. It might have been too much for them to take in but they seemed to be willing to try the Book of Mormon and to keep commitments. We are excited to keep visiting them.

We had another interesting experience when we were doing contacts in the park last night. We started talking to this small group of men sitting on a bench when their friend ran up and started talking to us a lot about his personal, very interesting, philosophies on religion. It turns our he is also an excellent painter. He had one of his paintings on a little tile with him and we really liked it so he was like, "ok, let me run to my house real quick and I´ll make one for you." He ran all the way back home and grabbed two more tiles and a bunch of fancy paints and brought them back to the park. He painted this sunrise for us both in like five minutes without brushes, using only one finger. It really is quite beautiful and I was super impressed. It was a special easter gift!

We also hav two YSA girls in our work who are really nice and go on splits with us every now and then. They told us to come visit them last night real quick on our way home and they surprised all four of us sisteres with bags of candy and a ride home. It was super sweet and a great end to a great day. I am so very blessed!

It was awesome to share the story of Easter with everyone this weekend. We had some special lessons and got to share strong testimonies of the Savior. I learned about the Resurrection this year, and we had a strong Spirit all weekend long. I love holidays! Especially such important ones as this.

Real quick Brazilian Easter tradition: No one colors eggs here but everyone buys these giant ovos de Páscoa. They are these giant hollow chocolate eggs with other candy or toys inside. There are rows and rows of them hanging from the ceiling of the supermarket here. You would not believe how popular these giant eggs are. They are the cool thing to do.

It was overall a great, SUPER fast week full of happiness! I love being a missionary, especially in this best mission in the best area of the world.

Eat more chocolate!

Sister Marchant

Olá Presidente!

Estas semanas estão terminando mais rápido do que eu posso imaginar. Aonde foi esta semana? Nós ensinamos muito e tinha algumas experiencias muito especiais. Nós encontramos um menos ativo esta semana quando buscando na casa de um outra pessoa. Eu nunca ouvi falar sobre este menos ativo, mas ele falou que ele foi MUITO ativo por tipo vinte anos e depois de seu divorcia e outros problemas ele afastou. Nós só o visitou duas vezes e ele prometeu com firmeza ir a Igreja o próximo domingo. Tivemos uma lição muito legal com ele e sua mãe ontem onde nós compartilhamos uma mensagem de Páscoa do Livro de Mórmon e cantamos um hino de Páscoa. O Espírito foi forte e nós estávamos muito felizes. Ele falou que ele vai levar a mãe dele para a Igreja também quem não é um membro. Ontem foi um ótimo fim a uma ótima semana. Nós estamos muito corridas e muito felizes.

Ligamos por todas nossas Sísteres esta semana, e elas parecem muito boas e melhor do que a semana passada, além que Síster Freitas está doente com um gripe e Síster Cruz está ainda tendo muitos dores nos joelhos. Sister Zapata e Sister Barros são muito felizes e nunca para rir e sorrir.

O resto aqui está tranquilo e feliz. Os outros missionários aqui em Campos Eliseos são ótimos e estamos trabalhando muito. Nossa ala continua ajudar muito. Estamos animadas pela serão esta semana e estão convidando tudo mundo. Vida é boa!

Obrigada,

Sister Marchant

 

 

Translation to English:

Hello President !
These weeks are finishing faster than I can imagine. Where did this week ? We teach a lot and had some very special experiences . We found a less active this week when searching the home of a another person . I never heard about this less active , but he said he was VERY active for twenty years, and then type your divorce and other problems he departed . We only visited him twice and he firmly promised to go to church the next Sunday. We had a very cool lesson with him and his mother yesterday we shared an Easter message of the Book of Mormon and sang a hymn of Easter. The Spirit was strong and we were very happy . He said he will take his mother to the church who is not also a member . Yesterday was a great end to a great week . We're quite busy and very happy .
We will call for all our Sisters this week , and they look very good and better than last week , in addition to Sister Freitas is sick with a flu and Sister Cruz is still having many painful knees . Sister Sister Zapata and Barros are very happy and never laugh and smile .
The rest here is peaceful and happy. The other missionaries here in Campos Eliseos are great and we're working hard . Our ward still help a lot . We are animated by this weekend and are inviting all the world . Life is good !
Thank you,
Sister Marchant

 

From: Eliza Marchant

Date: 04/14/14 11:17:46

To: Jewel Marchant;  Gary Marchant

Subject: Debora is the best!

 

Feliz Páscoa gente!

It really is hard to spend holidays without you all, but there are lots of new traditions and exciting things happening here to experience! Instead of Easter baskets they sell tons of these giant chocolate eggs. All the kids get a giant chocolate egg with toys inside. There are hundreds hanging from the ceiling of the supermarket here in town--it kind of makes me clostrophopic. But it is exciting and gets me in the Easter spirit. We have been studying a lot about the Resurreição this week and searching the story from all the four gospels. The Resurrection is such a wonderful, miraculous gift, and it is way neat to learn about all the details surrounding it. I encourage you to deeply study it again this Easter season if you haven´t already.

We had our first divisions this week with Sister Casperson and Sister Rodriguez! I went with Sister Rodriguez and had a blast. She is an excelent teacher and doesn´t really need any advice from me, but it was really cool at the end to talk to her a lot about how it is to be a new American learning Portuguese. It really is feelings and frustrations you will never understand unless you experience it. Sister Casperson has only been here for about a month and has no language background, so I can only imagine what it must be like for her. Spanish helped me SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOO much. I am so grateful that I chose to stick with Spanish all the way until the end of high school. Who know it would come in handy so much? It´s funny though, now I remember hardly nothing of Spanish at all. If I try to think or speak of Spanish it all comes out in Portuguese. I want to study Spanish again though when I come home. I LOVE languages!

Biggest news of the week--our recent convert Debora received a calling! I am so grateful to still be in this area to see her grow so much and to help her with this. She has been called to be the Ward Young Women´s President! She has only been a member for two weeks and hardly has even heard of Young Womens. It is going to be an adventure and an awesome challenge for her. Luckily, Sister Hoggan and I went all the way through the Young Womens program so we can get her started with even the most simple things such as what does it mean to have councilors and what are the Laurels. She is nervous but very willing and ready to go. I have huge faith in her and know that this will really solidify her testimony in the gospel as she studies and teaches the doctrine to this small group of Young Women. Debora is my hero! (She keeps giving us way too much free food too. That girl)

The other day we were doing exercises outside (we often descer until our apartment´s parking lot to do exercises in the fresh air :)) and I was just really anxious to get out and teach! There are so many people here in need of the gospel! We always have tons of people to visit and never enough to time to help all of the people on our lists. Our investigators are having a hard time keeping commitments this week for different reasons, but we had some powerful, determining lessons this week with some of them and we are excited to really go for it this next week.

We also were able to watch the General Women´s Conference this weekend! You were right Mom, that second vid really hit me too. I thought of you! Life goes super fast, especially a mission life. Time is a funny thing. Thank goodness we get to have endless time together in the eternities! We watched the Conference in Portuguese which was a really neat experience. I could understand almost everything! I didn´t retain a lot of it because I was focusing so hard on the language but I tried to take good notes and we should get the Conference edition of the Liahona soon! The Church is so great with all of these neverending resources to study. I am going to study the gospel until my brain explodes.

I love you all tons! Go eat another chocolate egg--especially those ones filled with the white cream (what are the called? It starts with a C). Thanks for writing such long emails this week! Love you!

Love,

Sister Marchant

Olá Presidente,

Estamos trabalhando muito e estamos cansadas mas felizes. Somos muito ocupadas organizando todos as coisas para nossos Sísteres e tentando aprender como ser bons líderes. Tivemos nossas primeiras divisões com Síster Rodriguez e Síster Casperson esta semana. Eu sai com Síster Rodriguez. Ela está fazendo ótima e está muito feliz. Ela ensina com poder e autoridade e faz contatos muito bom. Eu acho que ela vai ser um líder muito bom na missão e um exemplo grande para outras Sísteres. Ela já é uma treinadora muito boa com Síster Casperson, e elas estão felizes trabalhando juntos. Ajudei ela começar um plano de estudo de inglês; ela está animada estudar e fazer a prova em fim com a ajuda de Síster Casperson. Síster Casperson também é muito inteligente e sabe como fazer todas as tarefas de uma missionária. Ela só precisa mais ajuda com Português. Para nossa treinamento da manhã seguinte nós falamos muito sobre trabalhando igualmente. Síster Casperson não tem medo, mas como qualquer outra Americana nova, é difícil entrar conversas quando ela não sabe como fazer transições ou comentar. Encorajamos que Síster Casperson lidere mais e Síster Rodriguez fale menos. Mas elas são muito poderosas e não precisa mudar muitos coisas. Não precisamos preocupar sobre sua dupla.

Nossa semana foi bom mas um pouco desapontada. Nós tivemos algumas lições muito boas e tivemos muitos pesquisadores quem prometeram ir a Igreja, mas ninguém estava lá ontem. Vamos correr atrás todas estas pessoas esta semana e tentar explicar com testemunhos mais forte sobre a importância de frequentar a Igreja. Mas a Igreja domingo ainda foi muito boa. Nossas recém-conversas em nossa ala, Debora e Tiago, ambos receberam chamados! Debora é a nova Presidente das Moças e Tiago e o Líder da obra missionária da ala! Nós estamos muito animadas trabalhar com eles. Os dois estão muito dispostos e animados (e um pouco nervosos) ter estes novos chamados. Vamos trabalhar muito com eles para ajudar eles entender como servir em seus chamados e realmente que significa todas estas coisas e palavras novas. Estou muito animada para Debora especialmente porque eu sei que isto é exatamente o que ela precisa para permanecer ativa todos os domingos na Igreja e conhecer muitas mais pessoas. A obra está continuando forte aqui! Eu amo esta obra.

Obrigada por tudo,

Síster Marchant

P.S. Eu muito mais fácil escrever rápido em Português agora!

 

 

 

Translation into English

 

Hello President ,
We're working hard and we are tired but happy . We are all very busy organizing things for our Sisters and trying to learn how to be good leaders . We had our first divisions with Sister and Sister Casperson Rodriguez this week . I hung out with Sister Rodriguez . She is doing great and is very happy . She teaches with power and authority and makes very good contacts . I think it will be a very good leader in mission and a great example for other Sisters . She is already a very good coach with Sister Casperson , and they are happy working together . I helped her get a plan of study English ; she's excited to study and take the test in order with the help of Sister Casperson . Sister Casperson is also very smart and knows how to do all the tasks of a missionary . It just needs more help with Portuguese . For our training next morning we talked a lot about working also . Sister Casperson has no fear, but like any other young American, is difficult to get into conversations when she does not know how to do transitions or comment . We encourage Casperson Sister Sister Rodriguez lead more and talk less. But they are very powerful and do not need to change many things . We need not worry about his double .
Our week was good but a little disappointed . We had some very good lessons and many researchers who had promised to go to church , but nobody was there yesterday. Let's go after all these people this week and try to explain with stronger statements about the importance of attending church . But to Sunday Church was still very good . Our new converts in our ward , Debora and James both received calls ! Debora is the new Young Women president , and James and the Leader of the ward mission ! We are very excited to work with them . The two are very willing and excited ( and a little nervous ) to have these new calls . We will work hard with them to help them understand how to serve in their callings and really that means all these things and new words . I am very excited to Debora especially because I know that this is exactly what she needs to stay active in church every Sunday and meet more people . The work is continuing strong here! I love this work .

 

Thanks for everything,
Sister Marchant

 

PS I fast a lot easier to write in Portuguese now !

 

Hey hey!

Uau, what a semana this has been! First of all, Conference was out of this world. I loved watching and learning in each session so much. The time has never zoomed by so quickly. All of the American missionaries in Ribeirão joined up in our stake center (which of course is in the one and only perfect area na missão) to watch Conference in English. We had our own little air conditioned room in the High Council Room. It was a blast and super spiritually strong. I felt the Spirit stronger this weekend than any other Conference weekend. I could sit there and listen to them all day long.

We had a few pretty big changes this week...TRANSFERENCIAS! And the news is...I am staying in Campos Eliseos again! By the end of this transfer I will have 7 months in this wonderful area. And..Sister Hoggan is staying as well! She is a wonderful, super hardworking companion and I am very excited to continue to work with her and with these people that I love so much in Campos Eliseos. Elder Graf is going home to the states today but the other four missionaries aqui in our district are staying the same as well. They are all super strong missionaries and it is a pleasure to work with them.

But the big news is that Sister Hoggan and I are the new Sister Training Leaders!!! I did not believe it when we heard. Presidente Brum called us Friday afternoon and asked us both to start this next transfer. Usually a Sister Treinadora is trained by another who already has been, but we will be trying to figure this out on our own! Our main jobs will be to go on divisions with six other duplas of Sisteres and to work closely with the Presidente in extra meetings and leadership trainings. I did not see this one coming but am very excited to start. It´s kind of like being a zone leader for sisteres. I have learned TONS from my divisions with the Sisteres Treinadores in the past so I am excited to serve as one and learn so much more in this other aspect of service. I am a lot more confident in myself now knowing that the Presidente and the Lord know I can do hard things and have confidence in me. We are going to be runnning around like crazy being super busy, especially since this transfer only has 5 weeks (I don´t really know why, the weeks of the year don´t add up right), but I am happy and healthy and ready to go.

I could write for hours about all of my adventures if I had the chance! But don´t worry, I´m keeping a journal everyday so you guys can hear all the good details when I come home. Love you all tons!

Com Amor,

Sister Marchant

P.S. Do you all have a Preach My Gospel? Elder Ballard (and me) hope that you will write your missionary friends with details about what you are learning. I love this manual SO MUCH. We are having this trainingish project as a mission where we pass off a list of different things we are learning from Preach My Gospel. I am basically going to have this book memorized by the time I get home. I LOVE Pregar Meu Evangelho!

Olá Presidente,

Que uma semana maravilhosa! Eu amei Conferência Geral tanto, tanto, tanto. Nunca passou tão rápida, e conseguiria assistir todo o dia. Eu gostei dos discursos de Presidente Uchdorf sobre gratidão e de Presidente Monson sobre caridade para com um ao outro e todas as pessoas que nós encontramos. Aprendi muitas maneiras eu quero mudar e melhorar para tornar-me uma melhor professora e líder na missão. Tenho muitas coisas para fazer e aplicar desta Conferência, mas estou animada começar.

Estou também animada servir em nesta novo chamado como uma treinadora. Foi uma surpresa mas estou disposta fazer qualquer coisa que o Senhor peça. Sei que com a confiança Dele e de ti eu posso ter as forças e inteligência fazer coisas difíceis e ajudar outras missionárias. Eu amo estas Sísteres tanto! Sister Hoggan e eu estamos pensando muito sobre elas e como ajudar cada dupla. Estou muito grata pela oportunidade trabalhar mais perto com elas e conhecer elas melhor à medida que trabalhamos juntos. Obrigada pela email sobre nossa mordomia e quais são nossas responsabilidades. Vai ajudar muito à medida que estamos aprendendo como servir nestas novos aspeitos. Vamos ser muito ocupadas! Que uma coisa ótima.

Estou muito animada ficar em Campos Eliseos também! Que uma bênção servir tanto tempo aqui na área que eu amo tanto. Eu conheço todas as ruas e membros agora e onde tudo mundo mora então nós podemos trabalhar mais arduamente, nunca perdendo tempo buscando ruas ou esquecendo nomes. Tenho muito mais confiança como missionária, como ensinar, e como seguir todos os horários e partes pequenas da obra. Continuo aprender muitas coisas e minha vida está mudando imensamente. Eu amo ser missionária! Nunca imaginava tanto eu mudaria ou tanto esta missão afeitaria meu futuro. Tenho outros planos e maneiras que quero viver minha vida no futuro agora. Sou uma nova pessoa por causa das pessoas aqui.

Muito obrigado por tudo Presidente. Qualquer coisa que você precisa de nós, estamos prontas ajudar.

Síster Marchant

 

 

English Translation:

Hello President ,What a wonderful week! I loved General Conference so, so , so much. Never went so fast , and could watch all day . I liked the speeches of President Uchdorf about gratitude and President Monson about charity towards one another and all the people we met . I learned many ways I want to change and improve to become a better teacher and leader in the mission . I have many things to do and apply this conference , but I'm excited to start.I'm also excited to serve in this new calling as a coach . It was a surprise but I'm willing to do whatever the Lord part . I know that with Him you trust and I can have the strength and intelligence to do difficult things and help other missionaries. I love both these Sisters ! Hoggan sister and I are thinking a lot about them and how to help each couple . I am very grateful for the opportunity to work more closely with them and know them best as we work together. Thanks for the email about our stewardship and our responsibilities . Will help a lot as we are learning how to serve these new aspeitos . We will be very busy ! What a great thing .I'm very excited to stay in Campos Eliseos too! What a blessing to serve much time here in the area that I love so much . I know every street and members now live and where all the world then we can work harder , never wasting time searching the streets or forgetting names . I have much more confidence as a missionary , how to teach , and how to keep all schedules and small parts of the work . I continue to learn many things and my life is changing immensely . I love being a missionary ! Never thought I'd change both or either this mission afeitaria my future . I have other plans and ways I want to live my life in the future now . I am a new person because of the people here .Thank you for everything President . Anything you need us , we are ready to help.Sister Marchant