Olá Olá Meus Amores!

Happy New Year my dearest friends! Things are going by so fast here on the mish. It is already 2014! I am ready to devote this entire year to the service of my Lord and Savior. How lucky am I!

A few of you asked about traditions for New Years in Brazil. I didn´t hear about anything too special except that everyone stays up past midnight and gets a bit tipsy...But as missionaries we went to bed at 10:30 again! We woke up right before midnight and ate dark chocolate m&ms (yum yum thanks Mom!) and made new years resolutions. We also watched fireworks outside of our window. We live in the third floor of an apartment complex so there so we had a decent view. That is one great tradition they have. Every city sets off tons of fireworks at midnight. No matter where you live you will always be able to see fireworks because tons of people set them off all over the city. Then we just went to bed again, because as a missionary, you are always exhausted.

We did a sweet service project this week. An irmão in the ward is remolding and repainting his living room. We went over to his house one morning and helped to sand down all of his walls and doorframes. It reminded me of working in the house with Dad. We got super dusty and were pretty tired by the end, but it felt great to do some hard physical labor again :) (did you ever think I´d say those words Dad?)

Sonia and Lucas are progressing a lot. They are growing tons in the gospel and are such a joy to teach. I feel true genuine love for them and pray every day for them to continue to grow in the gospel. Sonia is 21 and Lucas is 19. I don´t remember if I´ve told you tons about them yet but we actually met them as a street contact because their mom wanted to come to our English class. That was over a month ago, and no one from their family has been to the class yet, but we have been able to teach the lessons to them instead. They live right across the street from the Church so it has been really easy to get them to come to Church. They are truly reading the LDM and have awesome questions during every lesson. I love teaching them because they listen intently to everything we teach and have a honest desire to recieve answers to their prayers. I hope I don´t get transfered so that I can continue to teach such wonderful people here who are stealing my heart.

We switched our Preparation Day to today so that we could go to the zoo! It was super fun and had some pretty amazing animals. It was pretty similar to our zoos just a little smaller. They had a few of the basics like an elephant and bear and lion, but then lots of different types of birds and warthog type animals that I have never seen before. It was pretty intense. But the best part was the gardens. They had extremely tall trees with a really thick forest that was absolutely beautiful. I would have been happy just to walk through that beautiful forest even if there wasn´t any animals. The botanical gardens at the Cincinnati zoo don´t seem like anything after that. It was the first time I felt like I was in the stereotypical Amazon that everyone thinks all of Brazil is like. Although it was a little tricky to get our preparation day switched around it was totally worth it and plus, the zoos are free here.

We have also had some inspirational lessons with less actives this week. Our ward has lots of less actives that are needing some love, so we have been seaching them out and bringing them back. I like working with less active because they almost always are very accepting of the missionaries and know what to expect when we come. I have felt the Spirit extremely strong in those lessons and have grown from the testimonies of these members. All of the less active we have talked to still have a testimony of the gospel but just have had some difficulty or another that is keeping them from reaching their highest potential. We can use the base they already have to help move them forward to enjoy all of the fruits of the gospel de novo.

This week I have come to love and appreciate the Atonement of Christ even more. I need it so badly as a missionary and I know how much our investigators need it. We can do everything God asks of us with the Atonement and can do nothing without it. How grateful I am for this wonderful gift! Every single day I thank my Heavenly Father for the help and strength that I can gain because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He is my Savior in a very literal sense and pulls me out of every hardship I enter. Everything is possible because of His infinite and complete sacrifice for us. Even when no one else does, He knows EXACTLY what we are feeling and going through. He will never leave us comfortless, in fact, he will always be there to full us all the way up with comfort and joy! We can do it all! Every hardship of this life will be worth it and can be the chance to be molded into someone better. I am so grateful for all of the experiences a mission offers. There is nothing like it in the world. If any of you reading this are debating whether to serve or not, DO IT! Every challenge or hardship you may have to go through to become a missionary is 100% worth it. I would never choose to change my decision and am so grateful the Lord has called me as His servant to bring others back to Him. Lucky for me I myself am being led back to Him at the same time. My heart is full.

Alguns beijos piegos,

Sister Marchant

P.S. Thanks for teaching me how to type. It´s funny that the Brazilians here think it is amazing how fast I can type. I don´t type any faster at all than any normal person but it makes a big difference when it is crunch time for emails and I don´t have to peck at the keys. The simple things about life you don´t appreciate enough...

Olá Presidente!

Obrigada por tudo de sua ajuda esta semana! Este tem sido uma semana de santificação de novo. Eu estou aprendendo MUITAS coisas. Eu sei que as experiencias nesta transferência vai me preparar e me ajudar por eventos no futuro. Eu sei que Deus tem um propósito por tudo que aconteceu em nossas vidas e que eu vou ser grata por esta experiencia no futuro. As verdades do evangelho são tão boas e felizes. Estou aprendendo muito mais sobre a expiação de Cristo e estou crescendo muito mais perto a Ele. Eu sei que com a ajuda Dele tudo é possível e que eu posso vencer qualquer dificuldade que eu tenho. Deus é tão bom!

Nós também tivemos algumas boas lições esta semana. Nossos pesquisadores Sonia e Lucas estão progredindo bem. Eles gostam de ir a igreja e têm perguntas perfeitas. Acho que eles têm confiança em nós e tem desejos puros aprender sobre a felicidade do evangelho. Nós os amamos e estão tentando fazer tudo os ajudar achegaram-se a Cristo.

O trabalho empurra para a frente! Tenho um testemunho forte sobre as palavras de Joseph Smith quando ele falou que A obra de Deus avançará com coragem, nobreza e independência, que nada vai parar o progresso desta obra. Temos as melhores notícias no mundo! Que felicidade ser missionária, não importa o que desafio aconteceu. Com a ajuda do Senhor, eu vou fazer sua obra.

Obrigada por tudo,

Sister Marchant

 

 

Translation into English

 

Hello President !
Thanks for all your help this week ! This has been a week of sanctification again. I 'm learning MANY things . I know that this transfer experiences will prepare me and help me in future events . I know God has a purpose for everything that happened in our lives and I will be grateful for this experience in the future. The truths of the gospel are so good and happy . I'm learning a lot more about the atonement of Christ and am growing much closer to Him I know that with His help everything is possible and that I can overcome any difficulty that I have. God is so good !
We also had some good lessons this week . Our researchers Sonia and Luke are progressing well . They like to go to church and have perfect questions . I think they have confidence in us and have pure desires happiness learn about the gospel . We love you and are trying to do everything to help have come before Christ.
The work pushes forward ! I have a strong testimony to the words of Joseph Smith when he said that the work of God will go forth boldly , nobly, and independent , that nothing will stop the work from progressing . We have the best news in the world ! What bliss to be a missionary , no matter what happened Challenge . With the Lord's help , I will do your work .

 

Thanks for everything,
Sister Marchant

 

 

Boa tarde familia!

We are have only a few weeks until Christmas! We are making plans such as THE PHONE CALL and all of this crazy music stuff. We have an ensaio for our choir this today actually all day long and then the Mission Conference is tomorrow! This will be the only time all year that the entire mission will be together. It is kindof a huge deal. The choir is sounding pretty good and I am very excited to be a part of it. Our main big performance will be in the Mission Conference tomorrow but we are also singing in the centro in a park tonight and perhaps with the Stake Choir here in Campos Eliseos some day. I am also accompaining Elder Ruberson who will be singing O Holy Night. It will all around be excellent. I know that the Spirit is present with sacred music and that this is an important part of the work for me right now. I am very grateful for this opportunity and know that God is pleased with our work.

This week em Sexta feira when we came home at the end of the day we walked in to a huge surprise: Sister Huntington and Sister Sperry had boughten Christmas decorations and decorated our house! They have some little teensy Santa ornaments on the wall and actually bought a baby tree with lights. It is so beautiful and is getting me really into the Christmas season. These Sisteres in our casa are really great and encouraging. They always now how to support me and build me up when I´m feeling down. We can´t do this work alone, but with the support of others we can do miracles!

We haven´t been able to do a ton of normal missionary work this week because Sister Jales has been a little sick. We are however teaching a new investigator named Shelly. She is only 11 but has been coming to Church for the past few weeks and has good friends at Church. She is reading the Book of Mormon with her mom and learning a lot. She was also sick this week so we really couldn´t visit her but we will return this next week and talk about baptism. I have high hopes for her! She will be a great example to her family, and we are planning on encouraging her mom especially to start accepting more of the lessons now.

We had divisions with the Sister Training Leaders this week! It was so amazing. I was with Sister Silva. She has such a kind heart and is super great at teaching and contacting and everything. I learned a ton and want to apply all that I learned into our future teaching. It is amazing how much you can get done in one day when you are focused and working hard. We taught lots of good lessons and I am excited to continue here in Campos Eliseos.

One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is the power of testimony. We bear our testimony, however simple, with everyone that we talk to. I love the power of sincere testimony because it can never be denied and works with every person regardless of their situation. I want to bear my testimony with the world and be bold in the way I declare what I believe. I know that this igreja e evangelho de Cristo is the same organization that Christ established when He was on the earth. I know that this is the only way to neverending happiness and that I am having the wonderful opportunity to teach God´s perfect and eternal Plan of Happiness every day. I know that this is the right thing, and nothing that happens in my life or in the world could change that. I have finally gained a testimony of the Atonement and its power to overcome every obstacle and challenge that we face. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The Atonement of Christ is very real and will lift us back up as missionaries at times even more than it will help our investigators. This Gospel contains all the truths of the one and only true and living God. He is my leader and Father. With Him, no matter what trials or difficulties I am asked to pass through, I cannot fail. The standard of truth has been erected and no unhallowed hand shall stop the work from progressing. The Truth of God will go forth boldy, nobly, and independent. The Great Jehovah has not yet proclaimed that the work is done, so I will continue to work and fight for Him. We are on the winning team! We will prevail!

Love,

Sister Marchant

P.S. Thanks for all the great emails this week! Shout out to Grandma for her neverending love and support! Yes Grandma I think I am receiving all of your emails and there is another letter on the way to Templeview Drive...I love you all!

Ola Presidente Brum,

Tínhamos divisões esta semana! Foi muito bom. Eu foi com Sister Silva. Eu aprendi MUITO e estou animada sobre a obra de novo. Nós ensinamos muitos lições juntos e encontramos mais novos pesquisadores. Sister Silva deu muita ajuda que eu precisei neste momento. O resto a semana foi um pouco diferente por que tínhamos muitas outras coisas fazer por exemplo o entrevista e os ensaios do coral. A obra está um pouco devagar agora mas temos muitos nomes que vamos visitar em breve. Eu realmente espero que eu posso ajudar mais e fazer todas as coisas de acordo com a vontade do Senhor. Muito obrigada por sua ajuda esta semana. Você fez muito para nós.

Um grande abraço,

Sister Marchant

Hello Hello!

Phew! What a week. It has been a bit of a difficult one, but we have had some really neat experiences as well. To start, Sebastião is doing awesome! He received the Aaronic Priesthood last week and passed the Sacrament for the first time this week. It is neat to see him continually progress. He comes to all the Church activities and makes lots of comments in the church classes. I really think he will stay active in the Church and help build up the ward here in Campos Eliseos. He does not know tons of people in the ward yet but is really starting to become immersed and would be fine without the missionaries there.

We had a really difficult, intense lesson with our other investigators Paula e Anderson this week. They had been avoiding our calls and hadn´t been to Church for the past two weeks. Early this week we showed up at their house one night and Paula told us that they did not find what they were looking for in our Church. She said the people were great and that she liked meeting with us but that she wants to look at other churches to decide first. We were pretty crushed and talked with her for a long time. We tried to emphasize the importance of the Book of Mormon and a personal testimony and she said she would continue to read and study. We bore our testimonies with all of our hearts, and to be honest, I felt the Spirit super strong in that lesson, maybe more than nearly any other lesson we have had with them, and we have had a bunch of spiritual lessons. I am really starting to recognize that one way that always works without fail to invite the Spirit is to bear sincere testimony. Every time I try to start to bear my testimony about something the Spirit helps me with the language, and I know that whatever I say can´t be denied. Others can argue about the doctrine or setup of the Church but they cannot deny when I say that I know something to be true. Testimony is powerful and I always strive to end every lesson with my personal beliefs. So Paula said that she might come back in the future and would keep an open mind. They have had problems trying to quit smoking and to get married and I think that they are scared to make any big changes in their life. Sister Jales and I truly believe that some day they will remember what they have felt in the gospel of Jesus Christ and return to His true fold.

We had a ginormous rainstorm this week again. I should probably stop talking about these because they are going to happen all the time, but this time we were in the thick of it. We were sloshing through the street with rain up past our ankles and it made me think of what many of you are experiencing right now but with snow instead. This is something I have never experienced in my life but it is always quite an adventure and we laugh through it all. There is a man in our ward who loves the American missionaries. He is so awesome and nice and always comes up and talks to me and sometimes gives little gifts. This week he gave me one of those colapsable umbrellas that is the lightest thing I have ever felt and will be perfect to carry around in my bag all day just in case. I am ready to take on the torrents!

I think I mentioned last week that we have a new sister in our house, Sister Sperry. She is amazing. She is super hardworking and always happy. Our home is so much happier and the four of us get along extremely well. It is great to come home after a long day and be able to talk to Sister Sperry and Huntington for a little tiny bit. We can really help and support each other as missionaries. There is no way I could do this alone!

I have been studing a lot about charity and love this week. When it comes down to it, charity really is the greatest attribute of Christ, and when we can gain true charity, all of the other attributes will much easier fall into place. In California I learned how to be strictly obedient and work with every rule to the T. Here I am learning to relax and not be stressed out over everything. I am learning to love every situation no matter what happens and to appreciate the small things. Charity has never been one of my strong abilities but I am learning little by little to gain more of it. Studies have really helped me to see the importance of skills like this and how to better apply them into my work. I have been a lot happier as I can let little things that bother me slide away quickly and to focus on loving the people here individually. Every person we talk to is very improtant and a child of God. I hope they can feel that they are important to him.

Wow, I have also really come to rely on prayer. I pray all the time now whenever I need any help or advice and God answers. Isn´t it amazing? We have a 24 hours a day, free, open line to all the right answers. I am SO grateful for prayer and the help I constantly receive from my Heavenly Father. He never lets me down and is always there to support and love me. I hope and pray I can do the same for others, especially for Sister Jales.

Beijos,

Sister Marchant

P.S. I received a super nice Christmas card from the Milford Ward Primary this week! Thank you so much for your kindness and cuteness! It was greatly appreciated.

Oi Presidente Brum,

Muito obrigado por todas as suas palavras simpáticas. Eu realmente aprecio todo o conselho eu posso receber. Esta semana foi um pouco mais difícil. Quatro de nossos pesquisadores progredindo disserem que não querem receber nenhuma mais lição. Tivemos algumas lições muito tristes com estes pesquisadores, mas nós sabemos que nós fizemos nossa parte. Fizemos tudo que nós pudemos e agora eles têm seu livre arbítrio. Eu me sentia um pouquíssimo do que o Salvador se sente quando os filhos de Deus não aceitar esta mensagem de felicidade. As vezes eu pensa, "como você pode abandonar alguma coisa tão importante e maravilhosa?" Mas eu realmente tenho aprendido amar estas pessoas ainda e saber que Deus ainda as ama mais do que eu. Esta obra é difícil mas com certeza vale a pena. Estou aprendido MUITAS coisas todos os dias, mais do que eu esperava aprenderia. Estou aprendendo habilidades e atributos importantes que eu sei eu nunca poderia aprender alem de uma missão. Esta oportunidade é uma bênção muito grande.

Nossa recém converso Sebastião está progredindo muito ainda. Ele recebeu o Sacerdócio a semana passada e passou o sacramento esta semana pela primeira vez! Estamos muito animadas para ele. Eu amo ver ele cresce. Ele tem muito fé e é muito forte no evangelho.

Muito obrigada por tudo,

Síster Marchant

Oi Oi!!

This is the first line of the chorus of our mission song. And boy did it rain this week! One day it was raining so hard it flooded the streets and the sidewalks and started coming up onto the porch of the member´s home we were out. Luckily by the time we were done having almoço it had slowed down a lot so that we could go out and keep working, but phew! I have never seen so much rain in my life. We were watching out of their front door the whole time. It made me think of how you must be having snow covered roads really high right now. Almost the same thing.

Transfers are here! Sister Jales and I are officially staying the same in Campos Eliseos! This is what I expected so it is not a huge surprise. We did get a new Sister in our apartment though named Sister Sperry. She is an American too and will be with Sister Huntington. Elder Worthin left our ward as well and was replaced by Elder Lewis. He will be our new District Leader. Sister Jales is a little concerned because she will be sorounded by Americans all the time now, but this is a good opportunity for her to learn more English and for me to practice remembering to always speak in Portuguese, especially with other Americans. I´ve heard great things about these two missionaries and I think they will be really hard working and help our areas. I know that our Mission President is inspired to bless us with these changes.

The Elders here had another baptism yesterday! It was the daughter of Mariana who was baptized last week. She was so excited and seems really commited to the Church. The actual baptism was a little different. They had it right after Church (because she had other plans on Saturday), which actually turned out really great because lots of people stayed to support. When we went over to the baptismal font, a lot of the water had drained out during Church unknowingly! It only came up a little past the knees of Elder Worthin. They tried to do the ordinance like normal but she didn´t get all the way under the water, so they actually did it kneeling down. I have never seen that before but I guess it works too and she made it all the way the second time. She is only 12 and was pretty scared but did great and we are very happy for her. We also had two investigators at Sacrament Meeting this week who stayed for the baptism! They are both young girls and we have only taught them once, but they seemed to like Church so we have high hopes for them. Getting investigators to come to Church is sometimes the hardest part for people so this was a big step.

Mariana is a super chef as well and made us cake afterwards which was too good. All the food here is too good and I eat way too much. But we are running every morning so and pretty much only eat lunch so hopefully I´ll be alright.

The piano lessons turned out really well this week. I had forgotten how much I love to teach. The two girls have actually taken piano in the past so they have lots of books to use (Bastien piano basics and Um Doze por Dia (a Dozen a day!), I might add) so I think it will go really well. I am excited that I will get to stay in Campos Eliseos and teach a little longer. Our English class this week was also awesome. It is amazing to watch someone grasp a new concept or idea and watch it finally make sense to them. I am seeing that in our teaching lessons as well. I love teaching people who really listen and want to learn, especially about the Plan of Salvation that is so new in many ways. We had a few great lessons this week and were very happy all week working together. Sister Jales has had some health problems but they are clearing up and I think all will be well. We have a lot of things to do still in this area and are looking forward to this new transfer to try to reach new goals.

I am very excited to hear all the news of my great family! Congrats to Nate on your job offer and good luck with starting a great new family! I´m also excited to hear about all the trips you all are taking across the country for the different holidays. Thanks for keeping me updated! They sound super fun. I think a normal phone call will work fine for Christmas. It will be a little sad not to see all of your beautiful faces, but I think it will be more reliable and definitely worth it to hear from everyone.

Keep up the good work and eat lots of leftover pie for me! I almost forgot it was Thanksgiving, it came up so quick. But don´t worry we did go out to a buffet place to have a mini celebration with the other Americans here. It was a very delicious mix of rice, beans, and meat. Not the traditional Thanksgiving feast, but a feast nonetheless. Life is good the Brazilian way! I am learning and changing lots.

Beijos,

Sister Marchant

Olá Presidente!

Primeiro, tivemos um batismo em nossa aula esta semana! Um dos pesquisadores dos Elderes foi batizado em Domingo. Ela estava muito animada e total foi bem. É emocionante para mim ver estas pessoas especiais achegaram-se a Cristo e observar as maneiras que o evangelho está mudando suas vidas. Minha parte preferida da missão agora está olhando alguém aprender alguma coisa sobre o evangelho que é maravilhosa (qual é mais ou menos tudo que nós ensinamos como missionários de Cristo) que nunca tem ouvido antes. Esta obra está com certeza mudando minha vida também mais do que eu já imaginei. Estou aprendendo um pouco mais como reconhecer e seguir os sussurros do Espírito, e nossas lições estão melhorando pouco por pouco. Sou grata pela oportunidade servir com Sister Jales de novo esta transferência por que eu sei que ainda há muitas coisas que eu posso aprender dela e muitas maneiras que eu quero ajudar nossa aula. Vamos continuar trabalhar douro.

Nossos contatos estão melhorando e estamos ensinando mais especificamente para as necessidades individuais de cada pessoa. Ontem fomos uma praça e falamos com muitos pessoas. Ensinamos duas lições muito boas lá e tivemos experiencias legais. Também tivemos duas lições com Sebastião esta semana. Ele tem um testemunho muito forte agora do evangelho e especialmente do Livro de Mórmon. Ele sempre está lendo fora sua porta quando passamos a casa dele, e todas as vezes que nós o encontramos, ele sempre está muito feliz. Ele também recebeu o Sacerdócio na Reunião Sacramental esta semana! Ele provavelmente vai passar o sacramento a próxima semana e talvez vai receber um chamado em breve. Sebastião é um exemplo para mim de fé muito forte e a disposição fazer tudo que o Senhor pede.

Todas as outras coisas são bem para mim! Uma missão é muito difícil mas muito vale a pena. Eu amo as coisas sobre a igreja que estou aprendendo e a maneira que eu posso aplicar estas coisas imediatamente em minha obra. Eu espero que eu vou sempre aprender e crescer por toda a parte de minha missão e começar amar as pessoas aqui ainda mais. Com a ajuda do Senhor todos meus desejos justos são possíveis.

Obrigado por tudo e especialmente sua inspiração sobre as transferências,

Síster Marchant

Olá! Tudo bem?

This week went fast and was great. Time is a funny thing. I never know where it goes, but at the same time I kindof feel like I´ve been in Brazil for years. This week I officially reached my 1 month mark in Brazil! Crazy stuff. And we find out about transfers this week as well. Sister Jales and I are thinking we will very likely stay together here in Campos Eliseos since we are still in 12 week training, but you never know. Sister Jales has been in this area for her whole mission. She may not be here for long.

This week the mother of Ana Furlam (a 19 girl in our ward) passed away. She had had some kind of heart problem for a long time and had actually been bed-ridden for 12 years. Ana is an only child and her parents are divorced so this hit her pretty hard. It is interesting the way they do funerals here. Her mom died late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning they had the body ready to go and flowers all set up in the Church. Then members and friends came and stayed all day at the Church talking and supporting the Furlams. We spent a long time there are tried to help Ana the best we could. Since we are pretty much the only other people there her age I think we were able to make more of a difference. That afternoon she was buried in the huge cemetary in our town. It was all finished in one day, no huge preparations or ceremonies or talks or anything. I liked the way the do not mourn and think about the burial and death for weeks. It was a neat experience to see the different cultural ways of doing things.

On the other hand, we also had two births this week. Two of the Elders´ investigators were baptized on Saturday! They are awesome and have huge testimonies. They are Mariana and Nezia. Mariana loves the missionaries and had actually already had us over for almoço twice this week with the Elders. She is a super chef and reminds me of your amazing cooking mom. Just not quite as good as you. So the baptisms went really well and they were both very happy. My favorite part of batisms is always when they walk in the room all dressed in white! The Spirit is so strong and they look so clean and new. Baptisms are such happy times.

We had another clean sweep of our Area Book this week, even more than before. Since we do 140 contacts every week, we always have tons of addresses and names to make return visits to. Previously none of thes Potential Investigators were organized at all and it was basically impossible to the to figure out were they live and who lives close to who etc. This week we organized them all by street and sent off lots of names as referrals for other areas. It was very successful and I feel more like I know how to work successfully in this area.

Sebastião is on fire! I have never seen someone so dedicated to this gospel who is so new to it and has no family supporting him to do this. He lives alone but faithfully comes to Church every week and is willing and ready to have us come visit and teach a lesson even with only a few hours of notice. He likes to talk a lot so our lessons are always pretty long but he is really soaking up the gospel and gaining a strong testimony. I think he reads the Book of Mormon more than I do. I believe he will be one who will never fall away.

Last week I forgot to say that I gave my first talk in Sacrament Meeting! I was pretty nervous and gave a very simple, but heartfelt talk on prayer. It was a bit crazy because it was the same day as Sebastião´s baptism and they asked me to speak 30 minutes into the first hour (we have Relief Society, then Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting) so I had a lot of things running through my mind. Luckily, they asked me last minute last week too but it happened to be the Primary Program so I didn´t speak then. I prepared a sketchy layout of a talk last week just in case they asked me again, and yes they did. It was interesting though, I´ve found with talks now that I am always nervous before I go up there but once I start talking there is no turning back and I generally am more calm during the talk. It went well and a member told me that they felt the Spirit strongly during my testimony which is all I really wanted. First talk down!

My music is going crazy. They like to ask you to do a lot of things here last minute actually. I played for the baptism and Elder Ruberson sang a musical number. We also did a musical number the next day in Sacrament Meeting and I played for Sacrament Meeting. A few of the hymns have a little different rhythms with the different words in Portuguese so I have to be careful and really read the music! I am very grateful for the chance I had to play at home during Church lots of times to prepare me for this day. The hardest part actually is listening really carefully to hear the number of the hymn that is coming up. They don´t use programs and my high numbers in Portuguese still aren´t the best so I have to pay attention really carefully! Oh and a strong member of the ward (Paola and Fabio (the first second councilor in the bishopric)) asked me to teach piano lessons to their two girls for our hour of service so they can learn the hymns. The only music we have is the hymnbook and I´m pretty sure they are not quite ready for that so I´m going to have to be creative. We start this week and we´ll see how it goes.

One other exciting event of the week is that I taught two full lessons by myself! The first one was a contact that turned into a street Restoration lesson. Sister Jales left me hanging out to dry and didn´t say anything. It was really hard but I know it was important to training and I feel more comfortable and confident in my teaching now. I can get the point across more or less. Then yesterday we were teaching a past investigator of a woman and her mom. Sister Jales started talking to the investigator and I started talking to her mom and they turned into two different lessons. I actually had a good back and forth conversation with her for 20-30ish minutes and it was a really cool experience. Portuguese is awesome! I want to learn every word in this language.

I love you all! Thanks so much for all of your love!

Sister Marchant

P.S. Congrats dad on all of your hard work!

P.P.S. Sorry I don´t really respond to your emails. I will do this in letters when I have more time.

P.P.P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

Olá Presidente!

Foi uma semana muito boa. Eu me sinto como se esteja crescendo e aprendendo mais com cada dia. A linguá é mais fácil agora e as vezes eu estou pensando e orando em Português sem perceber. Síster Jales e eu estamos tornando-nos boas amigas e estamos trabalhando melhor juntos. Nossas números esta semana não foi muito bom, mas fizemos outros coisas importantes por exemplo ajudando Ana Furlan com a funeral de sua mãe e arrumando nosso livro de área ainda mais. Eu me sinto muito mais organizada agora e tipo eu sei mais do que expectar com cada dia.

Sebastião continua crescer muito desde seu batismo. Ele ama a igreja e tem muito fé. Ele fez muitos comentários na igreja ontem e disse que agora ele sabe sem duvida que o Livro de Mórmon é completamente verdadeiro. Ele está mais feliz cada vez que nós o vemos, e ele continua aceitar tudo da igreja. É uma bênção para ensinar um homem tão pronto e disposto aprender. Esta semana ensinamos sobre o sacerdócio e ele está preparando receber o Sacerdócio Aarônico. Ele é ótimo!

Também ensinamos Paula e Anderson e sua filha Carol esta semana. Estão tendo umas poucas dificuldades, especialmente com a Palavra de Sabedoria. Vamos continuar os apoiar e convidamos focalizar no Livro de Mórmon para orientação. Eu tenho fé que eles poderão conquistar todos seus tentações e provações. O Senhor vai mandar milagres.

Eu já tenho um mês no Brasil! Foi muito rápido e eu já me sinto como uma pessoa completamente diferente. Esta obra é difícil, mas eu a amo e eu sei que isto está mudando minha vida. Eu sempre quero ser a missionária que o Senhor quer que seja.

Obrigado por tudo,

Síster Marchant

Hello fam!

We had our first baptism this week!!!!!!!!!! WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a kindof crazy but very exciting day. So we were planning on having it on Saturday but then we couldn´t get a member of the bishopric to come so we had to reschedule for Sunday before Church. It was going to start at 8:00, but you know Brazilians, no one comes to anything on time so by 8:30 people started to slowly show up. Then somehow the keys to the main closet were lost so we couldn´t get a jumpsuit ready for him! I don´t really know exactly what happened, but we eventually found the keys and ended up having the baptism actually during the second hour before Gospel Doctrine. It worked out well because all of the other investigators who were at Church were able to watch and there was a lot of support. It was hard however because we had a whole program planned out but were unable to do most of it. All is well though, the ordinance is all that really matters and that went great. Sebastião was still able to be confirmed in Sacrament Meeting so he is now officially a member of the Church! It has been so rewarding to watch him grow in the gospel over the last few weeks. He has changed a lot and continues to learn and yearn for the scriptures. It is an honor to have the privilege of teaching him.

On Friday we had a practice for this Christmas choir coming up. It was all day long so Sister Jales went on splits with another missionary. It was really fun and felt awesome to be a part of a good choir again. We still have a lot of work to do but I have a feeling it will go really well. After the practice we all went over to the ice cream shop across the street and bought açai. It is super delicious. It is the blended up berry in kind of like ice cream form with chopped bananas, granola, sweetened condensed milk, and this sweet powdered milk stuff on top. Heaven in my month. And only about 4 dollars for all of that! Totally worth it, and we can pretend it´s healthy because it is a berry. :)

We got caught in my first major rainstorm this week! The rain here is kindof crazy because it comes out of nowhere. In the morning it is sunny and clear so I do not bring my umbrella out as often as i should (it is kind of heavy to carry around in my bag every day). Then at night it comes on with a vengence. We got super soaked one night this week but we still had a few contacts to do so we went for it strong! It was pretty crazy.

Speaking of contacts, we had a few different days this week with that choir practice and Sister Jales had to go to the doctor one day (but we got everything figured out and she is going to be fine, don´t worry), so we were unable to get many contacts a few days. We somehow managed to get 81 on Saturday! I know that the Lord is helping us in whatsoever we need.

The biggest challenge of this week was the culture. The language is actually coming along pretty well. I am starting to really understand people, especially at Church. When we are talking to people on the street I almost always have somewhat of an idea about what we are talking about. The very free, laid back schedule has been a little difficult for me to get used to though. In California everything was extremely straitlaced (kind of like my whole life has been) and we were exactly obedient in every way. Here everything is a little more carefree so it will take me a while to relax and go with the flow. But I am starting to love Brazil more every day and the people we are teaching are really getting into my heart. This is exactly where I need to be! The Lord is teaching me things I never thought I would learn. Life is good.

Sorry this email is not very long today. I took a long time sending pictures in different emails this week. I hope they all came through!

Beijos,

Sister Marchant

P.S. At the beginning of my time here in Brazil I had an interview with the President and he said I could write to him in English for a while because he reads it well and it would be a lot faster for me. This week I will officially reach my 1 month mark (woo!) of time in Brazil so I wanted to start writing in Português. Let me know if this is a problem or if you want me to translate for you. I will hopefully be able to write more in my email to you all now however. (just not this week...)

Olá Presidente!

Esta semana faz uma mês que está no Brasil! Eu quero tentar escrever em Português agora. Meus emails vão ser mais corto mas seria bom para mim começar escrevendo mais em Português.

A semana passado estávamos muito ocupadas e fizemos muitas coisas diferentes. O mais importante, tivemos um batismo! Sebastião (quem você conhece) foi batizado e confirmado ontem. Foi um pouco ocupado por que temos igreja o mesmo tempo, mas ainda foi muito espiritual. Sebastião estava feliz e tinha paz durante todas as reuniões ontem. Os membros foram muito simpáticos também e a experiencia foi muito bom para todo mundo. Foi o primeiro batismo de ambos Síster Jales e eu. Estamos muito felizes para ele e sabemos que ele vai continuar progredir no evangelho.

Estou animado para o coral também! Acho que depois de um pouco mais ensaios será muito bom.

Estou começando acostumar à cultura de Brasil. É um pouco diferente para mim mas estou aprendendo mais todos os dias e estou amando as pessoas aqui mais cada dia. Eu quero amar as pessoas aqui e esta missão com todo minha coração. Eu quero servir exatamente como Deus quer para mim. Eu O ama e eu ama o evangelho. Jesus Cristo faz que tudo que nós experienciamos aqui numa missão vale a pena!

Muito obrigada por responder meus emails. Ainda umas poucas palavras significa muito para mim.

Obrigada!

Síster Marchant

Tomara que você possa entender este email!

Ola Familia!

It has been quite the week. Yep, it is definitely feeling like summer here! We had a few days of rain actually which was very nice but then four days in a row of super super hot. It is only just beginning but I don´t think I have ever been this hot in my life. The good thing is that there are always tons of people at the ice cream shops to talk to. :)

We had an area 70 come to visit this week! It was Elder Mazagardi (I think that´s how you spell it...). He gave us three zones a two hour training about the mission. I understood bits and pieces here and there but I really felt the Spirit and was rejuvinated to work hard again. Some of the things he encouraged us to do are to read from Preach My Gopsel every day, read 2 Nephi 31 every day, practice a baptismal invite every day in companionship study, to make our contacts more varied and exciting, and to try making contacts with people who live near the Church (and super lucky for us, the Conference was held in Ribeirão Preto in our chapel!). I learned a lot and we have a lot of things to work towards. I played for a small choir who sang the classic, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". They sang only one verse in Portuguese (I didn´t have the translation for any more) and I think it went pretty well. After the Conference they also had these auditions for a choir to sing in the streets at Christmas time. I tryed out and made it for altos! There are 16 of us and it is led by a missionary (Elder Ruberson) who is singing opera at BYU. He has a super good voice. I am excited to be a part of this group and to share some Christmas love in this happy, busy city.

Our weekly planning was truly a miracle. I´m the kind of person who really likes to be organized so I was excited to get everything straightened out (see below). I sometimes feel like I have no idea what is going on here, but I am now starting to get a little bit more into the groove. I know more of what to expect in different situations like almoços and Church and contacts. It is a lot to take in, especially when you cannot really explain how you are feeling but we are working through everything and finding great success. I am really excited for our investigators and to find a lot more of these people. It is ridiculous how trusting people are here. Nearly every other contact we make is willing to give us their name, address, and phone number after just a minute of talking to us. That would never happen in the states! I think it was hard and happy in both California and Brazil, but just a different hard and happy. We teach a lot more lessons here and I feel like we are doing more actual missionary work, but it takes more of a toll on your body. Preparation days every week always get me rejuvinated for the rest of the week though and I think I will be fine!

I have been meaning to tell you about the other two Sisteres in our apartment. Our apartment is actually really big with five rooms and extra beds to make space for other Sisteres to stay with us when they are visiting from out of town for big mission Conferences (like this week, we had just two extra Sisteres stay the night). There are two other Sisteres who live there as well, Sister Huntington (American) and Sister Amorim (Brazilian). Sister Huntington arrived from the states from me, and Sister Amorim has been out for 5 transfers. It is pretty fun to have roommates. Having an American there to speak to in my language and culture at night also helps to keep my spirits up. They are very nice and hard working. They work in the area right next to us (Imparanga) but we pretty much only see them in the morning and after we come home at night. We actually share the ward with another pair of Elderes as well. None of us actually live in the area we are working in (the other pairs have to take the bus every day), but luckily Sister Jales and I live close enough that we can walk. The other Elders are Elder Worthin and Elder Ruberson. They are both Americans and Elder Worthin has been in Brazil for 6 months and Elder Ruberson for three. The members serve all four of us lunch every day, and it is very helpful to have someone to translate if I miss something important. We work together with the ward a lot and are able to help each others´ inverstigators sometimes. I believe that the more missionaries we have out in the world, the easier it will be for us! It is great to have the support of all of these Elders and Sisters who are working towards the same goal and are having similar experiences.

I am gaining a huge testimony of prayer. God really does answer every prayer and is willing to give you any righteous desire of your heart. No matter the trial, God wants to help us and give us support, we must only be humble and come to Him. I am also learning the importance of patience in times of trial and how to give up everything to Him. We can do all things in the strength of the Lord! He has done everthing for us and yet still is willing to give us more. This Church is so true! Everthing will be worth it.

I love you all! Thanks for all the support!

Sister Marchant

P.S. If you ever get a letter from me, please send me a quick little note or email back saying you have recieved it because I never know how reliable the mailing system is. Thanks so much!





Oi Presidente!
We have done a lot of hard work this week. It has been really hot and we have been feeling a little bit sick but I think we are over it now and are better. (don´t worry mom, today I feel great) I have really come to know and appreciate the enabling power of the Atonement and the importance of prayer this week. I know that we can do all things with Christ. He wants to help us and is 100% in charge of this work. What have we to worry about? We are doing great things for the Lord!
This week we had an amazing weekly planning session. We took the time to really go through our Area Book and straighten things out. It had been unorganized and needed a thorough inspection. We found a lot of new names of people we need to visit and of different things we want to do with this area. There really are so many people to teach here! I did not fully realize until this week how much work there is for us to do. I was remotivated about the work and am excited to keep going strong.
We had also had some great lessons with Sebastião and with Paula and Anderson this week. Sebastião loves the scriptures and always shows us something he has read when we come. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he really liked the 5 steps of the gospel. He talks about them every time we see him now as well. We committed him to be baptized this Saturday! He was a little unsure at first and thinks that he is not quite ready yet, but we talked him through a lot of his concerns and I have faith that he can make it. He is still working on giving up coffee but if he can do this I think he will be ready to enter the waters.
Paula and Anderson are making major steps forward. They are living together unmarried and this week we taught them the law of chastity. At our next lesson they said they had thought about it a lot and agreed to work towards getting married! They also made detailed plans to overcome addictions to smoking and drinking coffee and beer. They still have a little ways to go, but they are making huge improvement. They always come to Church and have such strong faith. Their family is truly an inspiration to me. Their daughter, Carol, is also investigating the Church. She comes every Sunday as well and has great friends there. She usually sits in on the lessons, but we are going to really try to focus more on her this week. She is only 11 but has a great desire to learn more and I think she could be ready to join the Church as well in just a few weeks.
We have had some great miracles this week! The people of Ribeirão Preto are very open and willing to talk to us. We had some awesome contacts and are working hard to keep everything organized. We are reaching many of our goals and are striving to work as hard as we can together. It is hard work, but it is very worth it. I know the Lord can help me do all things that he needs me to do.

Obrigada,
Síster Marchant