Feliz Pascoa!

Well....passed my first Easter on the mission and I was SOO surprised to see that in Brasil on Easter they eat....rice and beans. (note the sarcasm). ;) But in addition to rice and beans there was the yummiest fejoada, pork, pasta, salad, and vinaigrette. It was AMAZING and I think I will be full for the next week or two. Which is good because our fridge is very empty right now. haha. ;) 

Drinking Coconut Milk.  It's gross...

This week was awesome. We had a multi-zone meeting on Friday and so naturally on Thursday night the assistant called and asked if we could sing the song we were going to perform on Sunday....at the meeting as well. As always I said yes. It went really well but I did cry at the end. But that’s because a lot of other missionaries were crying too...including some Elders...and so I cried too. But it could have been worse. The meeting was AWESOME. It is always great to have a spiritual boost during the week. President shared a really inspired message and included some really meaningful words about how he truly loves each one of us and prays for each of us every day. For one of the first times I truly FELT that he meant what he said and knew it was true. I am really blessed to have a really wonderful mission president. I’m sure every missionary says that though. :) Afterwards I had the opportunity to talk to him for a little bit in an interview and he told me he believes I have blossomed. I found that to be very interesting because I don’t feel THAT different. But it was nice of him to say. 

Our area is going great! We met with and marked a baptism date with a man named K. He is a great guy and so far he seems really serious about making a change in his life and finding the truth. We are finding lots of investigators who are honestly seeking. And two of our investigators even came to church on Sunday! We are starting to master teaching together….it's a slow process because my companion is still learning the language. But she gets better every day (not because of me though THAT’S for sure) and she is working hard and staying happy. I am really proud of her. And really grateful for her. The ward members are working well with us as well. We got 6 references yesterday to an amazing family. We are very excited to contact them this week! 

Yesterday, Easter, I sang His Hands again in sacrament meeting. It was in English. But over half the ward, including the bishop who doesn’t speak even a lick of English, were crying. And....for the very first time in my whole life....I sang a solo in church and didn’t cry, get nervous, get quiet, or go flat or shaky. It was....well for me it went perfectly. And afterwards I sat down in complete shock and amazement. I’m sure Elder Sears did too. He has played enough piano for me to know what usually goes down. I really have to thank him somehow for forcing me to sing anyways every time. haha. Because yesterday I think I had a major breakthrough. :) And the spirit was super strong. 

Why I adore my companion...

After church we went to S and R’s house. They are the couple that I sang at their wedding a few months ago. Well...now I’m here! :D haha. And they are AMAZING. It was the most fun and wonderful lunch ever. I am so proud of them and their firmness in the gospel. They are really struggling financially but they feed EVERYBODY anytime they need. They are so loving and open. They call me their daughter now. (It may be because they can’t say my name....but it makes me happy just the same. <3) It was a very fun pascoa. We hid eggs with scriptures on them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was fun watching them hunt for the paper eggs and share their testimonies about Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. 

Em fim....this week was amazing as usual. Working as usual. Happy as usual. Keep praying no one gets Dengue cause it is going around. And….that's about it. I love you all and HAPPY EASTER! :) <3 

Sister Heyer

Follow this link to see a beautiful video about Easter made by the church. :)

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

Let's Do This!

It says "Today is my Birthday" under Sister L's name tag and
"Today is my Companion's Birthday" under Emily's name tag.
Emily made her new companion wear it all day.
Fortunately, it really was her birthday.

Well sorry I am a day late! Yesterday we had to go to the police station to get my new companion´s visa figured out and while we were there we ended up teaching an African family who only spoke English and their native language. It was so neat! But it took about 2 hours longer than we expected and then the internet houses closed down. So we had to move our email time for today. Worth it though! First time teaching the gospel in English. It’s a good thing my companion just got here from teaching in the states and knew what to do! :P hahaha. 

This week has been a blur. Sister L got here on Tuesday and so we really got started working in our new area on Wednesday. But despite loosing a few days we worked our butts off and our area is getting off the ground well! We are excited. There are high expectations but there are high possibilities here so....we are just focusing on being obedient and working as hard as we can. :) So far so good! 

Em is not used to seeing fish in this state...

Sister L is from New Mexico. She has been serving in Tennessee for 9 months and got here two weeks ago. She just turned 20 yesterday. She is amazing. :) She has the best attitude. Best part of the week....we had been walking for hours and hours and it was incredibly hot and then out of no where it started to rain....and I turned to her and said "Do you want to go down this street and knock on all the doors?" and....considering the inclement weather and the exhaustion she must have been feeling I was expecting a less than excited response....but she goes ".......lets do this." (with a total warrior voice and everything) and then we pushed on. It was awesome. hahaha.

...but she loves Acai berries served with ice cream and granola.

Our ward is amazing. :) The members are very helpful and excited we are here. I was in sacrament meeting for ten minutes and was asked to sing at three different events. -_- So easter I will be singing in sacrament meeting, I will be singing at the stake women’s conference, and at the Elders’ next baptism. LOTS of singing. I’m getting less nervous though so that’s a bonus. And Elder S is like my official accompanist now. hahaha. 

I am excited to be here. Not much time to report a lot of things but next week the email will have more neat stories. We are happy, healthy, safe, and working. :) Thank you for all of your support and I hope you all have a great week! 

Sister Heyer

Hahaha

A Capybara (or a mutant guinea pig)

No Swimming :'(

Never Let Miracles Pass You By

Hellooo. 

Well….I'm making it. One day at a time. 

Coolest thing that happened this week was we visited a woman who is soo close to being baptized and she shared a miracle with us. Only she didn’t even know that it was a miracle. 

Last time we visited we told her to read 1 Nephi 8, Lehi´s dream. When we came back she told us she hadn’t read. We were bummed but we moved on and started asking her about if she has received an answer. She told us she wasn’t sure and that she was worried about being baptized and that the rest of the family wouldn’t follow her example and she would be alone in the gospel. We asked her how her prayer asking was and she told us she didn’t feel anything. Then she goes "oh but I did have a weird dream that night. But its probably nothing." I had already pretty much given up when she said dream because I am not much of a dream reader or believer because personally....I only dream about dinosaurs and strange unrealistic things. But she started in. I reallllyyy tuned in when she started talking about how she was walking in the dusk holding onto a line and to her side had a giant crack in the earth. She said it seemed like an earth quake had come and broken the earth in half dividing her from the other side. She described it as an “abismo”. She said that she was clinging onto the line and walking forward through the darkness. Then her husband came to her and told her to let go of the line and follow him to the other side. She told him absolutely no. That she would never let go. He was surprised but decided to leave without her into the darkness. She said she saw him reach the edge of the giant cliff/abismo and then stop. He then turned around and found his way back to her. He grabbed onto her hand and said "Nevermind. I’ll come with you." Then she woke up. 

We sat there dumbfounded. She described Lehi´s dream. Exactly. And she never even picked up the Book of Mormon. She didn’t read the chapter we gave her but God answered her anyway. Holy cow we were....FLOORED. Never had a miracle been so obvious. Sister Moura pulled out her book of church pictures that we have and opened to the representation of Lehi´s dream and showed her.  She just stared.....as dumbfounded as us. We explained that her husband returned. That she will be the example. She will bring her family to eternal life. But SHE has to hold on. She has to CLING on even in pressure. She must be baptized. 

She knew. You could see it in her eyes that she KNEW. She knows. But at the end....she said "not yet". It was the saddest moment of my life. The zone leaders were with us (to interview her....but it didn’t happen) and we all left....solemn and dumbfounded. Our testimonies were strengthened but she said no. And it killed all of us to see her ignore such a blatant answer from God. We are still waiting for her to call. I hope that she doesn’t keep us waiting too long...because the only one it hurts is her. 

Other than this event it was a great week of conference. :) My "filha" ("daughter" because I will "train" her even though she has already served maybe longer than me in the states....) gets here tomorrow. I’m excited and scared to pieces. Pray for me. haha. Three elders from my MTC district get here!!!! :D Sooo excited. No longer the lone wolf from District A. :)

I love you all. Have a great week. 

Sister Heyer

Stuck in Limbo...aka Iguatemi

Hello!!!

Everything is going well! Not much to report this week. Just getting settled in (as settled as I can be without unpacking my suitcases and considering I’m leaving). The Bishop had us introduce ourselves on Sunday and I was like “Hi. I will be here for just one more week" and then I watched as everyone in the ward stopped paying attention. hahaha. It’s okay though because I am getting super excited to get my new companion. Sister Moura is really helping me out with some great advice and I am teaching her as much English as possible. haha. It’s a good trade off. 

There is an American family living here for a little while. We ate there on Sunday. I ATE REAL FOOD! :D It was awesome. And I gave the message in English because their little kids don’t know Portuguese. They all cheered when I agreed to give it in English. They are very English starved. I found, with quite embarrassment, that I don’t remember how to speak English anymore. Wonderful. 

There really isn’t anything to report on. Only that the other sister I live with is HILARIOUS and her name is Sister Alessandre. We laugh wayyyy to much to be missionaries. It’s the most laughing I’ve done for 10 months. haha. She is awesome. She was in the Women’s broadcast video singing I am a Child of God. I’ll try to include a link. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2014/04?lang=eng&vid=3408781210001 (Minute 24:55 is when the song starts.) She is the blonde one in the middle. She is from BAHIA. BAHIA is all beach and fun and I want to visit there so bad. The culture is awesome. :) The accent too. haha. 

Well….I'm sorry it is short and lame. Next week I may not be able to email until Tuesday because we have a leadership meeting almost all day on Monday. Just as a warning so no one thinks I died if I don’t write Monday. :P haha. Have a great week everybody. I’ll send a better email next week! Promise. Here’s a little scripture boost of the week for you all. :) If we truly love our Heavenly Father, we keep His commandments. Even if it is hard. Obedience is the best way to show we truly love and honor our God. 

John 14:15- If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Love, 

Sister Heyer