The Pursuit of Happiness

This week was not at all what I was expecting it to be. But it ended up being a pretty good week. 

We were in high gear doing TONS of street contacts. Doing all we could do find new investigators. But yeah that didn´t work out too well. We only got two new investigators out of the 50 contacts that we did. 

But, we worked all week with Alicia (the daughter of the couple who is going to be married next month to be baptized) and she got baptized yesterday. She is so AWESOME. She was so excited to be baptized, and everytime she prays she prays that her parents can get married soon so that they can get baptized too!!! I am SUPER excited to plan a wedding :) Should be happening in about December. I might not get to be there for Annika´s wedding, but at least I´ll get to see a wedding. 

We have also been working with Gabriel. Gabriel is the son of a recent convert, Janai. He never was very interested with meeting with the sisters and he just likes playing soccer on the street and getting into trouble. But when I saw him, I was like. We need to teach him!!!! So me and my companion started slowly trying to gain his trust and BAM. Before he knew it he was taking the discussions. And he is super awesome. His biggest concern right now is HAPPINESS. He wanted to know how he could be HAPPIER. We have been making that a key point in all the lessons that we teach him. For the first week we taught him, everytime we extended an invitation he wouldn´t give firm answers. It was always ``maybe i´ll go to church on sunday``  ``Let´s see if I remember to say a prayer tonight``. But when we taught him on saturday he had a great bonding moment with his mom. And talked about the change that he had seen in her after her baptism. She stopped saying swear words, stopped drinking, stopped screaming at him, stopped beating him. And he said ``she does look a lot happier`` This was like the most rewarding thing I have ever seen. It made me think..... man THE GOSPEL TRULY DOES BLESS FAMILIES!!!!!!! And after the lesson we invited him to be baptized and he said YES :) Then he went to church on sunday and saw the baptism of Alicia and afterwards he came up to us and said ``Eu decidi, eu vou me batizar domingo que vem`` I have decided to be baptized next sunday!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO. It made me soooo happy to see him happy and to see him respond with such a firm answer. 

What I have been learning with Gabriel is that the only way to find true happiness is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other way. Heavenly Father wants to see us happy. He wants to see us on the right path to eternal life because he loves us!!!!!! It reminds me of the tree of life. The fruit is what is true happiness. 

10 And it came to pass that I beheld a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

And how can we get to the tree of life?!?!!? Following the iron rod which is the word of god!!!!! When we follow the commandments and live the gospel we are going to be happy regardless of what is happening in our lives because we will have hope that we will be blessed and that Heavenly Father will fix the bad things that are happening.  

Love you all!!!!

"The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

``The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.`` Proverbs 16:21 Goodbye to Vila Prudente

Today is my last day in Vila Prudente. Translation- Vila Prudent. The name of this area describes my time here pretty adequately. I feel like I have learned SO MUCH in these last 6 months here in Vila Prudente. I´m so grateful to the Lord for the opportunity that I have had to be here. It will forever hold a very special place for me in my heart. I have learned soooo much from the members on how to truly serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind and strength. I have learned from my investigators and recent converts how to have more faith. I have been given so much wisdom of the scriptures and the plan that Heavenly Father has for me through the hours that I have studied here. Heavenly Father has given me the experiences that I have had here to truly help me be more Prudent. I will forever be grateful for the time that I have spent here. I know that I was spent here for very specific reasons. To find the people that I have taught and helped enter into a covenant with Heavenly Father. Every single one of them where prepared by Heavenly Father, and I feel strongly that it was my purpose here on earth to find them.

Its wierd. I feel like I´m leaving home again. I feel like I´m leaving my family all over again. Words will never describe the amount of love that I feel for this area. It will forever hold a piece of my heart. 

Next Stop, Vila Esperança which is translation for Vila Hope... I guess Heavenly Father wants me to learn how to have more hope. Haha... 

``Wisdom is The ability or gift from God to judge correctly. A person gains wisdom through experience and study and by following God’s counsel. Without God’s help, man does not have true wisdom (2 Ne. 9:28; 27:26).`` (LDS.ORG)

Love you all!!!!!! 

Desi 

The Time Is Now

This week I have officially been on my mission for 1 year... It seems like yesterday that I was entering the MTC.... Times flies so FAST

Last week was kind of frustrating because I just felt really unmotivated and it wasn´t a good feeling. 

This week I am going to choose to beHAPPIER, and BETTER..... 

 It should be a much better week because we have a baptism on Saturday and a baptism on Sunday.. :)

I am learning that the time to act is now. I need to take advantage of every minute left that I have on my mission. To be the Best I can, and to help as many people as I can tocome unto christ. In 1 year I have seen so many changes in myself and in others. I´m so grateful for this past year that has passed by. It has been such a rewarding year. I´m looking forward to these next 6 months as well!!!!!! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE

Desi 

Setting worthwhile goals gives direction to our lives.

So this week was SUPER BUSY.... A lot happened!!!! A LOT

Monday was our district meeting. And me and my companion put our new goal for 8 baptisms for the month of October.... We know that it is a high number, but we both felt inspired to put it as our goal. I have yet to reach a monthly goal on the mission, and this is the highest goal I have set, but I know that Heavenly Father will help me reach this goal with a lot of prayers and fasting, and obedience. 

Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit one of our Recent Converts in the hospital. She has lung cancer. It was the first time that I entered a cancer hopsital. It was really an eye opener for me because It made me realize how blessed I am to have the health that I do, and the life that I do. It also made me really sad to think of all the people that our nearing the end of their life, and don´t have the gospel. I´m really grateful that I do. It makes me want to help EVERY single person in my surroundings!!!!!!!!! 

Wednesday we had so many scheduled appointments we had to run from appointment to appointment!!!!!! And so it was the rest of the week. But we saw some awesome progress in a lot of our investigators. 

On Saturday was General Conference. One of our investigators before conference told us that She WANTS to be baptized. She has investigated the church on and off for 10 years!!!!!!!!! She is the cousin of a member. She still has her first book of mormon that was given to her by elders 10 years ago!!!!!! At conference she wrote down 10 questions and in just one session 9 of the 10 questions were answered. And the second question was answered during the second session..... It made me SOOOO happy. And now after conference she is 100 % sure!!!! I loved conference!!!!!!

Also on Sunday we had 2 baptisms of 2 girls. Geovana and Amanda. We met them 2 weeks ago. Their mom works for a member cleaning her english school. They went to church last week and loved it!!! This week we taught all of the lessons and they were baptized yesterday. Their mom wants to be baptized too, but its a complicated situation... She lives with someone that she is not married too, but she can´t get married because if she does she will lose the money that she gets every month for being a widow..... But I know that Heavenly Father will help her realize that it´s worth losing the money, to take part of the only TRUE church, and to make a covenant with the Lord!!!!!!! Anyways I don´t know how exactly she is going to feel that she needs to be married, but I know that she will!!!!!!! 

We have another investigator who has a baptism date for the 20th of October, and a lot of others that we have been teaching a lot and who have gone to church, so we know that our goal this month is definitely possible!!! 

I feel like goals are definitely something that I have been learning a lot about on my mission. It´s a way to help us progress. Our goal here on the earth is to prepare to meet God. He wants us to all be perfect like he is. Our progression in necessary. We can´t just stay the way we are, we always need to be progressing. Setting High Goals shows our Heavenly Father our desires, and when we have goals we are willing to work hard to reach them. 

Set your goals high, if you have not already done so. 

Desi 

``There is nothing so unchanging, so inevitable as change itself``

So this week was an interesting week. 

Tuesday was transfers, and me and my companion Sister Amaral were told that we would stay... So we were all excited about this new transfer and the great things that we would see together, because we have two awesome investigators that have baptisms marked for October, Marcos and Karina. 

On Wednesday we wrote goals for the transfer and talked about all the things we could do, to help our area, and we were super pumped to work hard!!!!!!

Then on Thursday, we got a call from the Assistants that there was going to be an emergency transfer because of a situation that happened with other sisters. When I first got the call I felt heartbroken. Sister Amaral went to a different area, and I stayed here in Vila Prudente with Sister Oborn. Sister Oborn is my second american companion. I feel sad that Sister Amaral left, but I already love Sister Oborn!!!!!! 

But ever since Thursday it feels like everything is changing in my area. We started working in a different area than usual, we have new investigators, we are trying new methods of working. The mission is wierd. I feel like in one day I feel up to 100 different emotions. Happiness, Sadness, Excitement, Discouragement all at the same time. I´m sad that Sister Amaral isn´t my companion anymore, but I´m happy that Sister Oborn is my new companion. Change is hard, but I know that it is for the best. I read a talk by Marvin J. Ashton that described exactly how I am feeling. Here is a quote he used from C.S Lewis, 

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace” 

And so it is, with us. Sometimes change is hard. But it´s usually for the best. I hope that I can learn to adapt quickly and see the sense in what God is building in my life. I hope that this week will be a good one for me and Sister Oborn and for all of you!!!!!!!! 

Love, 

Desi 

  

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``When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.``

Wow. This week was such a GREAT WEEK. A week I will definitely never forget. 

It started out with us going to the TEMPLE on tuesday. I´m so grateful that I had the opportunity to go to the temple and enjoy the sweet spirit that is found there. 

Then we worked hard on wednesday, and on thursday night we had the baptism of Rafaela before seminary. She was SOOOO happy, and so touched by the spirit. It´s been so awesome to see her progress. She is totally involved in everything. She has already read all of 1 Nephi and is working on her personal progress with her sister Raquel. Yesterday she recieved the Holy Ghost and when we passed by we asked her what it was like to have the holy ghost and she answered that she woke up today so happy that she cleaned the house entire and made lunch for her sister, something that her family always complains that she doesn´t help with. It made me so happy. 

And then on friday we worked hard and on Saturday we had the baptism of Sabrina. WOW. I couldn´t even believe that I was so blessed to be able to see the baptism of Sabrina. It was such an awesome Baptism. Her Sister, that I had met in the MTC in provo was there. We had invited EVERYONE to come and see her baptism. It was such a special moment for me. Her being baptized while I am still in the area made me really reflect how truly blessed I am and how much Heavenly Father really loves me. 

During her baptism we sang My Heavenly Father Loves Me, and our LMA is a proffesional piano player, who did the accompany. Sister Amaral sang the first verse in portuguese, I sang the first verse in english and then together we sang the second verse in portugese. It was so good that a lot of people cried and afterwards the bishop asked if we sing it as a special number during sacrament meeting the next day, so we did, and Sunday was such a good day too, because we saw our recent convert Jeferson pass the sacrament with his aaronic priesthood. We saw Sabrina and Rafaela recieve the holy ghost and we had 3 really great progressing investigators there. I don´t know if I´ve ever felt so happy in my whole entire life. 

And... Tuesday are transfers. I don´t know if I will stay or if I will leave my area. I love my area and I love everything about my mission. I´m so grateful for the Lord for giving me the experiences that I am having. I´m so grateful to be a missionary. I´m so grateful for all the blessings that he has given me. I´m grateful that we have the true restored church of Jesus Christ, I´m grateful that we have the plan of salvation, I´m grateful that we have the knowledge of the things we need to one day return and live with Heavenly Father. I´m grateful for my companion for the great attitude that she always has. I´m grateful for President Ferrin because I know he is inspired in all things that he does. I´m grateful for ALL OF YOU. Every single one of you. You have always been such great examples to me. Sometimes we pass through hard trials, but I know that Heavenly Father has given us SO MUCH because HE LOVES US. I´m so grateful for Jesus Christ because it´s through him that I have all of these things.

``Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and spiritually strong. We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.``

Sister Bruno 

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There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say to the Lord, humbly, ‘Give me this mountain,’ give me these challenges.`` - Spencer W. Kimball

This week had some really great Ups and some really low Downs. 

Teaching lessons are always great ups. This week started good, because we taught some really great lessons to our investigators. But as the week went on. Bad news kept coming. Day after day. First day, Jeiza, one of Raquel´s friends that wanted to be baptized for sunday, decided she didn´t want to, but Rafaela was still wanting to the whole week. She´s awesome one day after we taught her about the gospel of jesus christ she went to school and taught her entire class about faith, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. They started calling her pastor Rafaela and she told them. No, actually it´s Sister Soares. Everything seemed ready for sunday: the President of the Young Women made a cake, Me and sister Amaral practiced singing When I am Baptized the youth of the ward got all excited. And what happened?!?! We got there on sunday and she told us she wasn´t going to be baptized. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! I thought. I felt true sadness. Geiza the whole week had been talking to her about all the things she would miss out on, like drinking going to parties, drinking coffee things that don´t bring happiness!!!!!!!!! On our way to church we talked to her and made a pact that she would  say a prayer and pay attention to what she learned in young women´s and afterwards make her decision... and what happened?!?!? Heavenly Father answered her prayers....  

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of ^afear; but of ^bpower, and of ^clove, and of a sound mind.8 Be not thou therefore ^aashamed of the ^btestimony of our Lord

She told us that the leaders had given her this scripture to read and that it was exactly what she needed and that she knows that Heavenly Father really answered her prayer and that this church is really true!!!!!!!!!! But she still told us that today couldn´t be the day. the youth spent the entire church talking to her about the decision. I also think that one of the young men helped a lot with the decision, but now she is going to baptized on Thursday. 

We also got robbed this week as well. Luckily he only stole our cell phone. But it´s been hard without a cell phone. REALLY HARD. We lost a lot of our investigators numbers and just my luck the same day I left my planner at the mission office, so I didn´t have numbers or addresses of some of the people we had marked to vist during the end of the week. It may seem silly but this was a BIG MOUNTAIN for me. Because after everything seemed to be going wrong this happened. I was already so stressed out because of everything else going on. 

But... I know that Heavenly Father gives us mountains to climb for our benefit. Funny because last monday I downloaded free music from lds.org and one of the musics talk about mountains to climb. It says 

``I know  that it won´t be easy, but it´s making me strong. So give me mountains to climb, rivers to climb, something thats going to make me better than I was . Give me mountains to climb because I know its taking me higher than I´ve ever been before.`` 

I thought it was a good message so I translated it for my companion. After everything that happened she laughed and said. The savior heard you. What does it say in D&C??? Song of the righteous is a prayer??? Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor. 

But this week should be a lot better. We have the baptism of Rafaela on Thursday and Sabrina on Saturday.... WOOO HOOO. Sabrina is finally going to be baptized on Saturday. SOOOO HAPPY. And tomorrow we are going to the temple. I know it is going to be a GREAT WEEK. 

 

Never Give Up!!!! Whatever Challenge the Lord gives you, face it with Courage and know that you are capable. 

Desi 

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