14 Months!

Tomorrow I hit the 14 month mark. It´s hard to believe how quickly the time goes. The Sister that I trained has been out for 9 months which makes me feel really old haha

We have a brand new Sister in our house named Sister Helm. She´s from Idaho and super cute. She been in Brazil for 5 days so the language is still a barrier, but she´s already speaking and understanding well. The Lord really is sending missionaries more and more prepared. She is a tall redhead so she draws a lot of attention. Picture Taylor Swift with red hair and that´s Sister Helm. :) I went on exchanges with her Saturday and it was really awesome. 

Sister Bento and I taught Renata, Marcelo, João Paulo, and Daniel this week with a family from our ward, Rose, Leonel, and Luciano. Rose is the Relief Society President and Leonel is the Young Mens´ President. They are both super awesome and have an amazing story. Rose went to church for 20 years by herself and Leonel was an alcoholic who mocked every missionary that stopped by. Through Rose´s example, and some great missionaries, Leonel had a change of heart, stopped drinking, and has now been a member for 2 years. He was a huge help in the lesson because Marcelo also has a little bit of a drinking problem. It makes such a huge difference when we are able to teach with the members. Their testimonies are undeniable. 

Great news! We found out that the forum will open again after New Years! January is a lot better than March like we thought. 

Today I read Mosiah 3:19 in my Personal study. It´s a very well-known verse and sums up how we need to be. We need to become "as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father." God really is our Heavenly Father and He loves us much more than we can comprehend. We need to accept that His plan is much greater than ours, and if we are humble and submit our will to His, we will end up very happy. I know that obedience brings happiness, that God loves us, and that He will never inflict anything upon us that isn´t for our good. This Gospel is true! Love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

Love,

Sister Lopez 

Some Good News, and Some Not-So-Good News

Good news! We had transfers and Sister Bento and I weren´t transferred. Yay! Bad news: My best American friend Sister Ball was transferred. Good news: she´s going to stay in Sergipe which is good. And her comp, Sister Barros, is going to train! It´ll be fun to have a new Sister in our house.

Amazing news! Renata, João Paulo´s mom, told us that she wants to get baptized too! Bad new: She is still waiting for her divorce to go through so she can marry the man she´s living with now so who knows how long that´s going to take.

Sad news: Yesterday was our last day in São Cristóvão because good news! President sent Elders there to stay. This is so awesome because I know the work will be able to go forth a lot faster with a companionship. We were only able to go out there a couple days a week so now the branch will really progress. I´m a little jealous because it was so awesome there, but I´m excited that the branch will grow and that I was able to have a little part of it :)

Really, really awful news. The forum where people go to get married is going to close for the holidays after this week until after Carnaval. That means that people can only get married in March! Which means that Erica and Antonio, Angela, Rogerio and Renata, Renata and Marcelo, Tatiane, and Magna will not be able to get baptized until March. This was a huge blow. I´m not sure how we didn´t know about this before, but it´s true and there´s nothing we can do about it. 

HOWEVER, this is the Lord´s work. He knows what He´s doing, He has a plan, and nobody and nothing can stop it. I know that the Lord will provide a way for us to help our investigators progress and obtain all the blessings that they deserve. As we are obedient and serve with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, we will see the miracles. I love this Gospel and I love being a missionary. I hope that these last 4 months are the best of the mission! :)

Love,

Sister Lopez 

Tricks and Treats!

Happy November! I know I say it every week, but really, time flies.

This week was full of more miracles! Monday night we had a Family Home Evening at a member´s house and João Paulo and his mom and brother went. (João Paulo is the boy that will be baptized.) Someone asked his mom, Renata, if she is a member and she said, "Not yet." She liked the family night so much that she invited the family over to her house this week for an FHE! And yesterday almost the whole family was at church! :)

Erica and Antonio are still having trouble getting all the documents necessary for their wedding, but we know that the Lord will provide the way. Antonio has some other little personal problems, but he received a blessing yesterday and seems like a new person. 

About a month ago I had planned to have a Halloween activity in the ward. I planned everything out and presented it to the Bishop. He said we could do it, but then he went out of town so it ended up not happening. I was a little disappointed, but then friday night when Sister Bento and I got home, there was a sign on the door that said, "Trick-or-treat." We knocked and Sister Ball and Sister Barros answered, we said, "Trick-or-treat!" and they gave us candy bars! Super exciting! We threw together some costumes, took pictures, ate caramel apples, and carved a honeydew melon hahaha. It was really fun and made me so happy.

Saturday we had a branch bbque in São Cristóvão which was super fun, and then we went out with the members to visit their neighbors that they had already invited to church. We taught a few lessons and even marked a few baptisms. The work progresses so much better and faster with the members! São Cristóvão is a missionary´s dream :)

Yesterday as we were leaving church, 4 young women told us they wanted to do a project with us. The had a bunch of Pass-along cards and they said they wanted our help to talk to everyone on the way to lunch. Of course we agreed and formed in 4 companionships, each missionary with a young woman, and we walked to lunch talking to everyone in the street, inviting them to visit the Church and to receive a visit from the missionaries. It was soooo awesome! We got tons of referrals and it was great for the young women to learn how easy it is to share the Gospel. 

I love this work and I love when the members are a part of it! These are the last days and the work is hastening. Everyone needs to get on board in the work of Salvation. Thank you for all the prayers. Know that they are being answered here in Brazil :)

Love,

Sister Lopez