Week 17 February 23, 2017 "Faith Precedes Miracles"

I don´t know how to explain this week, except to say that it was full of happy miracles!!! After a change of a selfish heart, and a fast, all sad feelings went aways, and my soul has been filled with sunshine ever since :) And the miracles keep on coming!

Our new investigator, Valdorizon is keeping commitments, and has not gambled, and is smoking and drinking café (I don´t remember how to spell this word in English...) less ever since we taught him to keep the commandments!!! His sister told him that Mormons were terrorists, but he doesn´t believe that. He is enjoying the lessons, and has a baptism date for the 27 of February!!!

After the death of Bento, it was a little while until we were able to have a lesson with his grandchildren, but we are again able to teach them, AND their father!!! They said that they will work towards having courage to go to church, and continue to learn about the Gospel! My companion and I love them soooo much, and we are always happy to see them :) 

I really don´t like mosquitos, and my legs are a pretty sad sight right now.....oh well. My companion thinks it´s really funny when I say, "Mosquitos têm muito amor por mim" (mosquitos love me) haha, and one of our investigators told me that by the time I return home, the mosquitos here will be able to speak English, haha. 

The Mission Tour was amazing, and it was really great to hear from Elder Arnold of the 70´s, his wife, and the Mission President and his wife. I was able to perform my Embark in the Service of God song, and we could all really feel the Spirit after. Elder Arnold told me that the song brought tears to his eye´s. We all have the responsibility to share the message of the restored gospel with all people. This past month I have been studying a lot about the Tree of Life. All who have the fullness of the Gospel in their lives have partaken of the wonderful fruit of the tree, but we must not stop here. We must continue to hold tight to the Word of God, and help others do the same. 

There is a wonderful article about the Tree of Life in the February Liahona, and I invite you to read and study!! I feel very enlightened after this study :)

I love you all!!!! Até Mais,Tchau!!!

 

                          "After a long day of hard work, oh how we love to sleep!!"

Week 16 February 15, 2016 "Another (almost) Trek Experience"

This has been a hard week for my companion and I. After our middle of the week P-Day, we were thinkng everything would be back to normal..not quite. Thursday afternoon I felt very lightheaded, and thought I could pass out at any moment. I felt really weak. It was a very hot day. That night I started to feel better, I even taught a FHE lesson with a family in our ward whose son is less active, the spirit was strong. 

I woke up Friday morning feeling worse with some pains in my stomach. After calling the mission presidents wife, Sister Oliveira, my companion took me to a doctor place where I got a shot, and an IV.. I didn´t cost anything! I ended up taking several naps that day. To make that day better, we got a call from the brother of our investigator Bento; Bento passed away that morning. That was very hard for us. We visited their family later during the day. Many people were there. Bento was loved by many people. Bento and his four grandchildren had been taking the lessons since my secomd day in this area, and all had accepted baptism. My companion and I visited them again the very next morning to offer what comfort we could give, and say our final goodbye´s to Bento before the truck came to take his casket away. 

Work was terrible that day. When we returned to our house I felt so depressed about everything. Yes, I had another breakdown. I cried for 10 minutes. I felt sick, I couldn´t understand the language, and will all of this, I felt homesick. It is so true when people say that mission´s are hard. I felt like I had so little faith, and so little hope for me ever learning and speaking Português. 

After this experience, I could feel new strength, and the love of my Heavenly Father for me.

When Christ suffered in the Garden, he suffered for not only our sins, but our pains and afflictions as well. Because of the Atonement, we can become better, and our weaknesses can become strengths [Ether 12:27] I have the ability to do hard things, including learning Português. 

Yesturday was a very good day. We had 6 investigators come to church, and I was able to open my mouth more, and speak in Português. That is my biggest fear right now, opening my mouth to speak. After being able to speak with people in Português, a section of my Patriachal Blessing came into my mind, "you will meet many people, and I promise you that when you open your mouth, you will be able to speak to them." 

As this applies to me, it also applies to all people when sharing the message of the Gospel:

 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say;but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life,and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. D&C 84:85

I am so grateful for this experience in my life, and with this strength renewed I will work hard to fulfill my purpose.

-Sister Randall

Week 15 February 10, 2016 "Yay, Carnaval.... Mas Boa Samana!!!"

This week has been good, but we have had to cut teaching time during the week due to carnaval. It´s been hard to find people to teach because of all the partying for carnaval, but now that it has passed, the good work will go back to normal! 

Many of the new investigators that we find do not progress, it´s been hard. We have had some who we have had cool spiritual experiences with!

One family accepted the invitation to be baptized after the first lesson. After saying the first vision, we asked how they felt, and the grandmother could only say "fé. Eu sinto muito fé." It was a really wonderful experience! 

 We are currently teaching a man, and his 4 grandchildren. His grandchildren (13, 11, 10, and 7) hang on to pretty much every word we say. They have accepted the invitation to be baptised! One day this past week while we were teaching them the 3rd lesson, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, we asked each of the children if they felt like they needed to repent of something, all three of the older children said yes, but the 7 year old said no. He knows, he is still so inocent. It was a special lesson :) 

Since arriving in Brazil, the mission president, and several missionaries have gotten the word out that I sing, and write music. I have had calls from other missionaries asking me where they could find my music on youtube. With all of this, I´ll be playing my Embark in the Service of God song for the mission tour, whoa. I`m excited :) I love sharing! 

I don´t have much else to say for this passed week, but it was a good one :)

Week 14 February 1, 2016 Another Fun Week!!

Oh, where do I begin?!? I love my area SO MUCH!!!! This week has been so nice because of all the rain! We are teaching a man named Bento, and he has accepted baptism!!! In our most recent lesson with him, we could feel the spirit so strongly because we were teaching the restoration, and it was right after the First Vision. This week we will be focusing on the Book of Mormon, and church. 

It looks like my companion and I will be teaching a lesson in English soon with a recent converts brother. 

Speaking of English, a brother in my current ward is an English teacher hear, and has had mehelp in his English program for Português speaking people. He has me record several English words. It´s been fun!

So 4-5 beautiful blisters have appeared on the bottom of my feet...haha, it´s been a "fun" daily experience walking on very un-even roads with them, but all is well in Zion!! The wonderful experiences keep me from thinking about my feet.

I had my first breakdown last night in this mission about the language. I am honestly to hard on myself because it´s only been two weeks, but sometimes you just need a good cry, some chocolate, and tada!!! Everything is better! :) I have goals to improve my Português this week :) 

When people ask me where  I am from, and I say Texas, they reply with many questions about guns; It´s quite funny! 

I don´t have much more time, but I hope everybody has a great week!!! Tchau!

Week 13 January 25, 2016 A Whole New Experience Filled With Adventure!

Ahhhhh, I love my new area!!!!! This past week has been beyond amazing!!! First off, my baggage was found! My new area is Várzea Grande. My new companion´s name is Sister Spindler, and I love her so much. She is from Esteio, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil; and she speaks little English. She is 27 years old, and a convert of 3 years. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel, and a wonderful example to me. I haven´t felt uncomfortable, scared, sad, ect.. because I´m with her. From how she cares for me, she is going to be a wonderful wife and mother some day. Indeed life is a whole new experience for me, but I love every moment of it-"the heat, humidity, and sunburns never bothered me anyway` haha. Indeed, the gift of tongue´s is real because I am able to understand almost every single conversation we have with people! Speaking Português is still hard for me, but I will be able to pick it up. For now I mostly bare testimony, and I am so grateful for that. Dispite the hardships, I can choose to be happy, and I am because of the Gospel, and the opportunity I have to share that with the Brazilian people here in Várzea Grande. I hope you have a wonderful week!!! Tchau!!

p.s. If I don´t spell words correctly, oh well......I am kind of forgetting how to. Love you!!!

Week 12 January 18, 2016 Rough Day

I´m finally in Brasil!!!! I love my mission president, and his wife; they´re super duper sweet. I have already met many of the elders and sisters in my mission. Brasil is a different world to me, but I can´t wait to become apart of it!!! My time traveling..... I would love to forget a chunk of it. I did my best to not look like a dumb little girl who knows nothing about traveling, but that was a tad difficult for me. after the long night spent on a plane to São Paulo, I discovered that my suitcases were lost (everything was inside), so yes, I´m not very smart when it comes to making sure I have an overnight carry on packed.... It took me forever to figure things out, and to find my next flight, but I made it. I honestly felt like crying there because of being lost, not able to understand anyone, nobody understanding me, being in a country I never set foot in before, and feeling alone. Even though I had the urge to cry, I didn´t; I smiled instead. Through all the craziness though, I had a cool opportunity to speak with a women on my overnight flight to São Paulo. She spoke very little English, but I was able to get to know her!! She has one sister who lives in New York with her husband, and she lives near her mother in Brasil. Their family is Catholic. She told me that she was a school teacher for young children. She loves to play the piano. She also told me about her father, and how much she loved and admired him, and how he passed away two years ago. She is very close to her family. We talked about Jesus Christ, faith, and the importance of families, and how families are close and strong when Christ is the foundation. I talked to her about Eternal families, and she believes it. I admire her faith, and strength. It was so cool!!!! I am so grateful for the experiences that I have had in Gilbert Arizona, I now feel prepared to serve in Brasil!!! And so, the Cuiaba adventure begins!!!

I love you all so very much!!!!

-Sister Randall

Week 11 January 11, 2016 The Sun Is Setting In Arizona...Hint, Hint ; )

So, this past week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life! I found what my purpose was for being here in Queen Creek, the Gilbert Arizona Mission :)

There is a wonderful family in our ward who we went to teach the Restoration to, and this was my first time to really teach in Spanish. I didn't say much (because my Spanish is even more limited then my Portuguese is, and that's not saying much), but as soon as I said the first two points of the lesson, the sister had tears in her eyes. She told us about how she was really struggling with her testimony, and how she was really doubting the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith. The only reason she was really going to church was because of her calling, but she had decided earlier that say that she was going to stop. Her children said that she needed to read from the Book of Mormon, but she said that she didn't believe any of it any more. She had only been a convert fro some years up to this point. She told my companion that seeing my try hard to tell her that she has a Heavenly Father who loves her, and has a great plan of happiness for her in her language brought her to tears because the Spirit. I didn't understand anything, but I could tell that she was going through something hard. After we left, my companion told me everything that happened. This dear sister told my companion to tell me that I had saved a life that night. This is such a special experience for me, and I can't help but feel the spirit, and get a little emotional every time I think about it. What if I hadn't been worthy of the spirit? What if I just gave up in trying to learn Spanish because it's "too hard." I'm grateful that I was worthy enough to be there at this women's time of spiritual need. The Lord has a plan for each of His children, and this experience has helped me to remember the importance of being obedient so that I will always be ready for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I know that we have a Loving Heavenly Father who is very aware of each and every one of us, and that we are apart of his great plan of happiness. We have a loving Brother who gave His life for us so that we can return to our Loving Father's presence, with the ones we love, to live in eternal happiness and peace. This life is hard, and it is sometimes hard to see what is in store for us, but we must always be ready to do the things which our Father would have us do.

Zone conference was on Thursday!! It was good, and such a wonderful learning experience!

Our ward is growing closer together, and starting to really move towards the missionary effort!!!! It is so cool to see how everyone is starting to take action!!!

So, I have some very exciting news, and sad news....... I'll start with the sad.

Our only two investigators dropped us, it really hurt........ but we were able to find a golden investigator!!!!!!! Her name is Hilda, and she really wants to learn more. She came to church on Sunday, and definitely wants to come back!!! She loves to way she feels, and believes what we have shared with her, in that she can be with her family forever. She will be going to the Bishops FHE this evening!

ok, now for the second half of the good news...........

                      *DRUMROLL*

JEFFERY R. HOLLAND IS SPEAKING TO OUR MISSION ON THE 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!!!

and there is more to the good news.....

MY VISA IS READY!!!!!!  I will be flying to Brazil on the 18th, a week from today!!!!!!! whoa.....I am service and excited at the same time.\

I love you guys so very much, and the next time I email will be in Brazil!!!

Tchau, till next time!!

-Sister Randall

Week 10 January 4, 2016 I Am Seeing Miracles!

What a wonderful New Year so far!!! The past week and a half have been amazing as my companion and I are beginning to see miracles! My area has been very slow since I arrived here in Queen Creek, and the investigators that we had were not keeping commitments, and it really did feel like we were sometimes wasting time. Many people were in Mexico for the Holidays, and we were not getting appointments. My companion and I needed to change something that we were doing. We are getting the Bishop more involved (because I think he was a little out of the flow in missionary work), and we are working to strengthen the members in fellow-shipping :) We also, as a Zone, made a commitment to invite everyone we meet to baptism! It's working, and now we have a potential on date to be baptized on the 23rd of this Month! She was indeed a miracle! My companion and I also had a cool experience with an Atheist! The Spirit came really strong while we were talking to him; and when my companion bore testimony, you could see the Spirit working through him! He said thank you with a smile on his face, and gave each of us a hug. He then let us say a prayer with him. The Lord is preparing people, and even though this man may not be quite ready now, a seed has been planted; and we know that his future will be bright. Our door knocking experiences are getting really fun! Baring testimony is so powerful, and I can feel more in my spiritual growth when I share it with everyone! My companion and made a plan to visit and teach all members and less actives in our area the Restoration. It is such a beautiful and powerful message, and I can see how that re-confirmation that the members receive effect their lives! It's so cool!!! I love my area soooooo much, and the members are amazing!!! I also love the people that I meet, and I am excited to see how many of them grow in learning the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

So, after playing my songs at a lot of the members homes, I was asked if I could play the piano for church yesterday (because the brother who plays every Sunday moved to the YSA ward). Even though I can't sight read the hymns very well,  I was happy to do it! I will be playing again this Sunday! New

New Years was fun! The stake held a party at a small family run amusement park, and had members and missionaries invite non members! There was about 7000 people there, and about 2000 of them were non members!!! It was so great! All the missionaries who were serving in the stake greeted people, and helped do little services! When it was 6:00, we needed to go (New Years Eve....yup) so my Zone did an activity in one of the Church buildings. It was really fun! 

To end this email, I would like to share a little spiritual thought on prayer. We are so blessed to have a way given to us to communicate with our Father in Heaven. He hears our prayers. He loves us. He knows our names. He wants us to come to Him in prayer, and he wants us to put our trust and faith in Him. He is willing, through the Holy Ghost, to answer questions, guide us, and comfort us in times of need. Don't take prayer lightly, and something that becomes repetitive. It is a gift, and one that is given freely with no cost. I invite you to take time this week to pray with earnest to your Father in Heaven. It's important, and by doing so, we are blessed in important ways personal to each of us.

I love you all so very much!!!! Tchau!!!