Scorpions and the Spirit

Dear friends and family,

This week was quite exciting! We came home Monday night and found a scorpion in the bathroom sink! It wasn´t very big, about an inch and a half, but it was fiesty! The 4 of us were all freaking out, but I trapped it in a container. He died a little bit later and Sister Gama encased him in some packing tape to mail to her friend haha. 

Later we were planning for the next day and I said we needed to spend a little time finding new people to teach. Out of nowhere my companion, Sister Moura, suggested we talk to people in the street Pio 10. So we went thereTuesday and there was no one in the road. We were walking and talking when all of a sudden Sister Moura said, "Let´s knock this house." We "knocked" (which actually means we clapped) and a woman answered. Turns out her name is Francisca and Elders already taught her years ago in Maceió. She went to church lots of times, but was never baptized because she was living with a man and didn´t want to get married. BUT now she is single and ready to hear the Gospel again. Definitly was a huge testimony booster for me that God has people prepared for us to find, we just need to heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I´m so grateful that Sister Moura wasn´t afraid to speak up and follow the Spirit.

The Dad of our little family of less-actives went to church! We talked to them afterwards and he said he is happy to be back and won´t ever leave again. We brought up the subject of baptizing his two sons, Vinícios is 10 and João Vitor is 8, and he said he may want to wait until they turn 18 and can decide for themselves. I explained how important the gift of the Holy Ghost will be as they are growing up and especially in the teenage years, and how they need to be baptized so they can all be sealed in the temple. He was still a little hesitant so keep them in your prayers!!!

Today I was reading in the Liahona of August 2012 a talk entititled, "How Can I Know if I Was Forgiven?" by Elder Tad R. Callister. One part I loved said, "Some people are harder on themselves than the Lord." He says that after we repent, there isn´t a "black mark on our right ankle with the inscription 'sin of 2008'." After we repent, we are totally clean and forgiven. We need to forgive ourselves and have faith in the atoning power of repentence. This week we are studying Charity and Amor. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much more than we can comprehend. We need to trust in their love, forgive ourselves and others, and love our neighbor. 

I am soo excited for General Conference this weekend. It truly is a chance to renew our Spirits and feel the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. Hope everyone will have a chance to watch. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lopez

Another week in the life of a missionary

Dear friends and family,

Luckily we didn´t run out of water this week. I think we were all tramatized last week and are afraid to use water now! haha Something very exciting that happened this week is we met a less-active family with two kids who haven´t been baptized. The parents, Adelson and Daniela, were never sealed in the temple. We visited with them a couple times during the week and they came to church yesterday! We are now planning the baptisms of their two sons, Vinícios and Jon Vitor, and they are wanting to go to the temple! So awesome:)

My Portuguese has taken off now that I´m a trainer and have to take charge a little more. It´s amazing to feel Heavenly Father helping me understand and speak. Today a man came up to me in the supermarket and asked if I was an America. I said yes and he asked if he could practice his English with me. Of course I said yes, but then I totally spaced! He was speaking in English and I couldn´t remember how to talk! haha I´m not sure if my family is going to be able to understand my Engliguese when we Skype in May :)

Opening an area is really cool because you can talk to everyone. We´ve visited with almost all of the people the Elders taught before us, but haven´t had much success with them. This week we´ve decided to try and find tons of new investigators and give out lots of Books of Mormon. 

This week Sister Moura and I are studying the Christlike atribute Knowledge. I learned that as we increase in knowledge, we increase our ability to feel the Spirit. We can increase in knowledge through scripture study, prayer, personal experiences, and revelation. Knowledge gives us power to know how to act, what to say, and what to do: 3 things that are crucial to being a successful missionary and follower of Christ. I´m so grateful for this time to increase my knowledge and strengthen my testimony. I know that God lives and loves us. I know that His work and His glory is to bring to pass the salvation of every single one of His children. It´s a priviledge to be a part of this work :) 

With love,

Sister Lopez

One year to go!

Dear friends and family,

I can´t believe my mission is 1/3 of the way over. It has already been the adventure of a lifetime! So fun fact about Arapiraca is that the city gets running water for one week and one week no. When we moved in our Zone Leaders told us we would never run out of running water because the apartment has a reserve. They also said the Titanic would never sink.   We ran out of water Tuesday, but it came back today! Best day ever! Haha I never realized how much we use water: to shower, to wash clothes, to wash dishes, to flush the toilet, to brush your teeth...I have never been so grateful for water! haha. 

One investigator that we have, Maria, went to our ward activity with her two daughters, Daiane and Maiza, wednesday, and when we went back to teach her she said she had a dream that she was in heaven and all the people from the church were there. She said she knows they are on the right path! Keep them in your prayers :)

Each week Sister Moura and I try to develop a Christlike atribute. Last week was faith and this week is Hope. I learned that faith is the belief that God can fulfill his promises and hope is the belief that he WILL fulfill his promises. I know that this is a Gospel of Hope. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and wants every single one of us to be happy. We can have hope that we can be forgiven of our sins and receive all of the wonderful blessings God has in store for us. Take courage and stand strong. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lopez