Batismo!

Olá!

We had a great week here in Jardim Alagoas. I have been on the mission 5 months already! It´s crazy how fast time is passing. Friday we had Zone Conference which was awesome. We had some great trainings and heard some awesome talks. Presidente Gonzaga gave a really powerful talk on Obedience. It´s always nice to get spiritual boosts like that.

But the big news is that Charles was baptized Saturday, and yesterday he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Aaronic Priesthood! A little bit about Charles. His mom, Fátima, hasn´t been baptized yet because her "husband" hasn´t legally divorced his first wife. They want to get married, but his first wife won´t agree to the divorce so it´s complicated. Irmã Fátima has been faithfully attending church for a few years now. We met Charles as we were leaving a lesson with his mom. He had been living in São Paulo working, but decided to move back to Maceió to be closer to his family. We said we were missionaries and he said we could come by anytime and he would love to talk to us. So we went back the next evening and taught the first lesson, which is The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shared to story of Joseph Smith and before we could say anything else he said, "I know this is true." He went on the tell us about a bunch of hard things he had gone through, he cried, and then he said, "I just want to be happy, and I know this church and this Gospel will make me happy." We said, "Yes! We can promise you that it will!" Over the past 2 weeks we watched Charles change so much. He gave up smoking, he started smiling and laughing way more, and he gained a ton of confidence. Watching him be baptized was one of the highlights of my life :) He came up to us afterwards and said with tears in his eyes, "I am so so so happy. Thank you."

I know that this Gospel is a gospel of change, a gospel of hope, and a gospel of happiness. I am so grateful to be serving a mission and sharing our message with everyone. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for your love and prayers :)

Love,

Sister Lopez

The Ups and Downs of Mission Life

Dear Everyone,

Another solid week! The only downside was Juan wasn´t baptized :( He had a family situation come up and wasn´t able to be baptized, but we are going to reschedule for this week! Charles was able to completely stop smoking, which is a huge accomplishment! He is going to be baptized Saturday so keep him in your prayers.

Last p-day Sister Ferreira and I attempted to make chocolate chip cookies, and they actually turned out pretty good! The only thing we couldn´t find was chocolate chips haha so we used a knock-off of M&Ms instead. 

Our new ward mission leader gave a talk yesterday on missionary work that was awesome! He talked about how the members can help the missionaries by going to lessons with us, which is a HUGE help. Investigators really need friends to feel comfortable in a new situation. We are really excited :) (Our mission leader actually served in João Pessoa and knows Robbie! His name in Júnior Coelho.)

I had a little revelation in Relief Society yesterday. We were talking about the importance of families and how families can be eternal, and I read in the manuel that only in the Celestial Kingdom ("heaven") will we exist in family units. I already knew that, but it finally occured to me that families are one of the greatest blessings Heavenly Father has to give us. It´s a blessing so great that only the most faithful will have families after this life! It just goes to show where our priorities should be :) 

I am so grateful for my family and for the knowledge that we can be together forever. I know that God´s plan is a plan of happiness. He has so many blessings in store for us if we will just obey the commandments and endure to the end. Thanks for all your love and support!

Love,

Sister Lopez

Milagres são reais! (Miracles are real!)

Dear Family and Friends,

We had an awesome week! We hadn´t been able to get ahold of Juan for about a week, and were about to drop him, when he called us! We remarked his baptism date and he came to church again. He is going to be baptized this weekend! We are very excited. Also this week we met Charles. He is the son of a woman in the ward. I had already met his kids when they were here visiting their Grandma, but he stayed in São Paulo. Due to a series of events, he has moved back to Maceió and wants to be baptized. He is golden. He basically already has a testimony of everything we teach, and said about 50 times that he wants to join the church and never leave. He is going to be baptized the 22nd of Feb!

Sister Ferreira and I are working really hard, seeing miracles, and having tons of fun! I absolutely love her! This week really strengthened my tesimony that miracles happen after the trial of your faith. This life is not easy, and lots of times we are pushed to our limit. But when we persevere we are blessed so much! I know that trials help us grow, that miracles are real, and that all things are possible with Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It really is a gospel of hope and happiness. My challenge to all of you is to look for the miracles this week. Life´s better when we remember our blessings :) Have an awesome week!

Lots of love,

Sister Lopez

February!

This week went by extremely fast. I can hardly believe it´s already February! One thing that was really great is that a semi-active family we have been working with came to church, the 2 daughters bore their testimonies, and the mom was wearing her garments which she had stopped using. So so awesome! Something funny that happened is Sister Ferreira and I went to visit an investigator and her 5-year old son was outside playing. He asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said no and he said, "Get one." Then he asked my companion. She said yes and then he said, "Makes sense because you´re beautiful." That was quite the confidence boost haha

I decided I want to give my advice to anyone preparing to serve a mission, although it applies to everyone. The most important thing you can do to prepare for a mission is strengthen your testimony. If you feel your testimony is lacking in any area, strenthen it through prayer and by living the commandments. Every day is different, every person you teach is different, but the truths of the Gospel and your testimony are the same. Make sure you believe what you teach!

I know that God lives and loves us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and he paid the price for our sins. I know that he suffered for each one of us, that he knows us perfectly, and that he can help us through any trial. I know that families were made to last forever, and that we are here on the Earth to have joy. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lopez

Another Week in Paradise!

We had transfers this week and my new companion is AWESOME! I love her. Her name is Sister Ferreira and she is from São Paulo. She is really positive and happy, and is very patient when I don´t know exactly where something is haha. She also has a personal mission to make me try every new food there is in the northeast of Brazil. We work hard, but are having tons of fun! This week we marked 5 baptisms. Unfortunately, only one could come to church yesterday. His name is Ruan (a different Ruan than before--no pun intended.) He is great! He told all of the members yesterday that he is getting baptized on the 8th, and he is going to help the ward clean the chapel this Saturday. He loves to talk to everyone, so we think he will be a great member missionary after he gets baptized :)

Sister Ferreira hit her 6-month mark Saturday so I made Magic Cookie Bars! They weren´t quite as good as the ones my mom makes, but I had to improvise a little bit :) And yesterday made 2 months in Brazil for me. Time is absolutely flying!

I saw the hand of the Lord so much this week. I was able to understand and speak about 10x better than I could before. I know that the Lord qualifies whom he calls! There is a bumper sticker that I see all the time here. It says, "Se Deus é por nós quem será contra nós." --If God is for us, who will be against us. It is so true! With God, all things are possible. I love being a missionary. I love this Gospel. It´s all true :) Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lopez