This is sweet Joana on her special day. <3
I am standing by Jovem, a sweet friend of Joana. Then her Mom Minda, Joana and Marco, her Mom's boyfriend. A day of celebration!
This is the last picture
Sister McChesney and I took together.
Me with some stellar members of our ward here, The Pinto's on Sao Miguel. This is for me, so I can remember their dear faces for years to come.
My Letter Home:
BIG NEWS: Sister McChesney was
transferred.
=( She was needed in another area to be a SISTER TRAINING LEADER!
(that means she will work with and train other sisters, helping them with
everything from teaching techniques to emotional problems or other challenges.
But it is actually really fun.) So far both my comps have left me and become
STLs. Not sure if that says something about me. haha =) I will missss her though!
My new companion is named SISTER
NEVES. (that means "snows" in Portuguese) she is BRAZILIAN! and she
is a baptizing machine! I have seen her before, but never really spoken to her.
She is really pretty. I still haven’t met her yet, she will come today. I am
kinda nervous; basically this means I will be starting at least a 6 week
English fast as her companion, she speaks no English but I am also so psyched. I know she is a really strong
missionary. That is exactly what this area needs. Someone to come in and SHOCK
the system! I know this transfer was so inspired. Our President of the mission,
also Brazilian, is so inspired.
I was given the request to write a
"day in the life of a missionary" piece. Today I will do that.
Missionaries have a strict schedule.
We wake up very early, do exercises, eat, and begin studies. We study thinking
of our investigators (the people that we are teaching), what they need and what
spiritual help we can offer. Then, at exactly 11 in the morning, we leave the
house and only return for 1 hour of lunch and 1 hour of dinner. We work,
talking to strangers and offering help to everyone and their dog. We knock
doors and talk about Jesus. We are on our feet for hours. We walk miles
everyday. We have to find our way around foreign streets using only maps and
our broken Portuguese. Life is crazy. You are with your comp 24/7 whether you
like them or not. You do not pick who is your companion, they are assigned to you. (I have been very lucky in this respect, I have LOVED mine!) You don't speak to your family, in order to stay more focused
on the work. You get to email them for one hour per week on Mondays. You come to love the people you serve with all your heart, and when
you least expect it you get a transfer, you change areas, change comps, change
lives. And you keep going. It is like running a marathon. You can’t let up for
one minute. But it also brings the most joy, the most fulfillment that I have
experienced yet in my life. It is the weirdest, most awesome thing I have ever
done. If I hadn’t gone on a mission I would have been way more clueless about
how the rest of the church, and the rest of the world, really is. But because I
am here, I am becoming the person that the Lord would have me be. My eyes have
been opened, and I see my fellow men with more of a heavenly view. My goal is
to see others the way their Savior sees them. To speak the way He would speak.
To act as he would act.
ALSO, you literally cannot go a day
without someone giving you cake. I cannot figure out why. PLEASE NO MORE CAKE
AHHHH FINE I'LL EAT IT! =8
These last two transfers have been
such a huge learning experience for me. And I think the lesson that the Lord
wanted to teach me was:
How to handle rejection.
It was really hard, everyone. Me and
my comp were rejected a lot. As missionaries, we talk so much about our faith.
We believe that if we have enough faith that baptisms will happen. Which is
totally true. Our faith plays a huge role in the progress of the work.
But then why, when we were being
strictly obedient and hard working, were we not seeing any fruits of our
labors?
It was so tough. People who I thought
were so golden, with whom I had felt the spirit so strong, sent us packing.
Lots of times not in the nicest ways. We had so many close calls. We were
inviting people to be baptized more than in any other time of my mission. We
would walk until we would collapse from exhaustion. Were our efforts being
wasted?
I testify to all of you that the
resounding answer is NO!
Last Sunday, a member in our branch
invited some of his friends to come to church with him. Minda, Marco, and
Joana. Mother, boyfriend, and daughter. They were super nice people. So clean
and normal looking. They came to sacrament meeting, and afterwards to Gospel
Principles class. I was the one teaching. The Elders didn’t tell me I was
teaching until literally 30 seconds before. But I mustered up all my little Portuguese
words and spunkiness and dove in. It ended up being an awesome class about
repentance. I testified and felt the spirit really strong. Minda told me later
that they had planned to leave after that class, but something about what I
said inspired her to stay. After church, I started talking to her and
discovered that she was not a member! AND that they live in the area! Then, the
heavens opened and every missionary’s dream was answered.
The next day we went to visit them,
we taught them about Joseph Smith, and then we invited them to be baptized.
They said they would think about it.
The next day we went back, with a
member, and had an awesome spiritual experience. We marked Joana to be baptized.
the. next. Sunday.
AND SHE WAS BAPTISED YESTERDAY! It
was the most wonderful, spiritual experience that I have had yet on my mission.
Joana is such a sweet girl, 16 years old. She has had a really hard life, with
a father that has left their family. But she knows that this church is true. I
know it when I heard her say her first prayer. She asked her Heavenly Father
for help on this new path that would be the most important of her whole life.
When she left the waters of baptism, she cried in utter joy. I was so happy to
be a part of her conversion, and I will continue to be for the rest of my
life.
The Lord never forgets us. Our
efforts are never wasted. He has a greater hand in this work than we know.
Never think that your efforts are unseen. He sees. He knows. And he will answer
your prayers in His own time. It may not be in the moment or way you were
expecting or hoping.......but it will come.
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers
prayer.
I know that He has given His Word,
Which tells me prayer is always
heard,
And will be answered, soon or
late.
And so I pray and calmly wait.
I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the way I
thought;
But leave my prayers with Him
alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own,
Assured that He will grant my
quest,
Or send some answer far more
blest.
I love you all! Have a wonderful
week!
Seester Barron
