Unexpected Miracle

This entire month just FLEW by. And now it’s two weeks until Mother´s Day (significant because of two reasons: 1. My mother is amazing and deserves AT LEAST one day dedicated to her. 2. I will see my family!!!!) 

Lizard skeleton...found in their house.  Surprise! 

This week was pretty...slow. But we did have one miracle that made the rest of the unexciting and unproductive week seem a lot better. Sister L and I were walking past the huge park that is here to go into a different neighborhood. A bunch of people were passing us on bikes as normal and runners were flying by on every side. This made it even more of a shock when a man flew past us on a bike....and then 2 minutes later pulled up from behind us and asked us in English if we speak English and if we are Mormons. We of course said yes and then he began to explain his story. 

His name is N (age 30). His dad is from the United States and his mom is from Argentina. He only speaks spanish and English (with a heavy spanish accent) and he moved to Brasil a week ago. He is a boxer and is training with the Brasilian team for the Olympics! He is trying to learn Portuguese and is looking for a church. He said he had been wanting to learn more about our church for years but because of moving and training for the Olympics he never got an official chance. He said he has been going to a few different churches but that the one he was really looking for was ours. He was so excited to find us! He asked for one of our books and wanted to know ALL activities that will happen so he can go. He said he has been "putting his life in order" to hear our message and join our church. He was married for three years and then 3 years ago they divorced because his wife was only interested in drinking and partying and he wanted to start a family and settle down and find a church. He said his dream is an eternal family and our church is the only he has seen that really focuses on that. 

Pizza!

We gave him ALL the information and then continued shocked at the experience. That night we prayed that he would actually come to the missionary dinner we had invited him to scheduled for the next night. We almost passed out when he showed up (on bike because he has NOTHING here and because he exercises 24 hours) and wandered down the hall and ran into us. After we picked our jaw off the floor we introduced him to as many people as we could and sat talking with him and eating pizza. It was so neat. It is a little difficult because he doesn’t know portuguese very well. But our ward is FULL of people that speak English and Spanish. He couldn’t have picked a better ward to be in. Then to top it off he asked to see how baptisms are done AND he came to church Sunday and made a ton of friends. He is....what we call GOLDEN. It is truly a miracle that we were not expecting (which we need to repent for...we should ALWAYS be waiting and expecting miracles or they won’t come!) and we are so excited to continue teaching him. :)

Noah's Ark?

 This week I studied something that really opened my eyes. I was studying about the atonement and I stumbled upon the true meaning of Grace. This word "grace" is something I have been studying and trying to understand better my whole mission. This week another piece fell into the puzzle. I learned that Grace has two definitions. Grace is the way of repentance, the ability and opportunity we have to repent of our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for each one of us. But Grace is also....the power of Christ. It is a physical, mental, or emotional POWER that each one of us can pray for and have with us that helps us do things that are normally beyond our natural human capacity. It is strength and power to do what is right, to understand the spirit and God´s purposes for us individually, and the ability to overcome our weaknesses. I read a few scriptures that really opened my eyes to this power that is "grace". 

Jacob 4:7 

7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore wilI 

rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

I also found a talk that really put it all together for me in the Ensign of March 2014 (see below):

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/03/youth/grace-and-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

It was just a really comforting thing that I learned this week. That when we feel like we CAN’T do something....we are right. Alone we CAN’T. But with the grace of Christ we can. We just have to be worthy and willing to ask for help and receive it. Recurring human weakness is NEVER beyond the Savior´s willingness to help and to save. 

Have a wonderful week everyone. Above all else remember that you have a loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for you, his beloved son/daughter. Don’t be afraid to accept the best that is being offered. We never have to settle for less. <3 I love you all. 

Sister Heyer

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

Just When I got Comfortable...

Well....I was transferred. Got a call from the assistants yesterday. Why? Because my situation is complicated. I will be transferred to Iguatami (which is our President´s ward) to stay with Sister Mora (sister trainer leader) for 2 weeks to open a new area....then in two weeks I will be transferred again. To open a new area in Castelo (which is basically Chapadão. Same church building just a different ward and the other side of the neighborhood.) sharing the area and the ward and all lunches with the....assistants (0_0)....with my new companion who will be American and who I will train. She is at the mtc in São Paulo for 2 weeks starting tomorrow doing the new two week intensive language study for missionaries who have been serving in the states. 

I know...sorry its complicated. Just to review: 

-2 weeks opening an area with the sister trainer leader in Presidents ward

-Transferred AGAIN

-Training

-American companion who just got here

-Opening ANOTHER area while training

-The transfer is only 5 weeks so....opening TWO areas, being transferred twice, and doing 6 week training...in only 5 weeks. 

-Sharing an area with the assistants

-Back to where I was just a few months ago 

-Living in a new house just the 2 of us

-Stake president is the richest man in brasil....lincoln martins.

-Help

Trying to stay positive. But it’s a lot of big and difficult changes to take in in only one day. I guess now that I am almost 10 months in President wants to make sure I stay on my toes and don’t get too comfortable. I could really use the Rocky theme song right about now...but Peace Like a River by Mormon Tab. is a close second. ;P hahaha.

Good news:

-........I will be close to Sergel the best ice cream place on the planet

-My zone is closer to the temple so maybe we will be chosen to go

Anyways....apart from being really sad to go and quite a bit stressed....WE HAD A BAPTISM! Our dear Pa was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. It was easily one of the most beautiful and spiritual baptisms I’ve seen.

On Saturday she showed up at the church at 2:00 because she was so excited. Her baptism was at 6. hahaha. We made her a cake and bought her flowers.She cried so much. It was very beautiful. I sang "I feel my Savior´s Love" in Portuguese for her. It was fun. I wasn’t even nervous (making BIG progress here). It was so sweet because right after the baptism there was a Relief Society activity and she immediately started helping set up everything, chatting with all the Sisters and making a ton of friends. We just stood there feeling completely useless watching her become a part of the ward in less than 10 minutes of being baptized. It was....comforting. :) The next day she was confirmed, gave the closing prayer, already paid her tithing, and the Bishop asked if he could give her a calling next week. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Literally. 

So....that was my week. :) Thank you for the emails of support. I really appreciate getting that extra boost every week. <3 Love you all. 

Sister Heyer

Ps- President gave all the missionaries the new manual about how to handle stress....just in time. It would prob be more helpful if it were in English though.... -_- Sometimes you get stressed just trying to read it all and understand what its saying about stress in Portuguese! hahahaha. Its ironic.

Blessings of Safety and Peace

HELLO! Well...last week of the transfer. Can´t believe its almost over already. When we went to the temple on Saturday (explanation as to why will follow) I saw a couple from Valinhos carrying a tiny little baby....I remember when she told us that she was pregnant! It was very strange to see a living proof of how quickly time passes and how long I have been gone already. It was hilarious however seeing their faces as I talked to them in fluent Portuguese. ;P lol. 

This week was another great week! Pa wanted to go to the temple with us on Saturday so Sister M and I drove with Pa and M who is her good friend and recent convert in our ward. It was beautiful. There were FIVE weddings there. It was sweet to see Pa get all teary eyed as a Dad being sealed to his wife and little girl explained to his daughter that she, mommy, and daddy could now stay together forever and ever. Something that if I had heard I wouldn’t have really thought twice about because it is a normal idea to me, became incredibly special and incredible to this starry eyed 23 year old Pa. I realized how much we often take the gospel for granted. The gospel really is....special. 

Our zone leaders met us there to interview her for baptism. She will be baptized this Saturday. I found a really pretty of the Salt Lake Temple (where she wants to get married someday) and backed it on cardstock. I then made it into 6 puzzle pieces each with a quote about Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and as the endure to the end part I put in two beautiful quotes about eternal marriage and forever families. We will put a puzzle piece in her mail box every day this week until Sunday when she is confirmed. :) Figured that would be some sort of way we could do follow up with her every day this week amidst school and work that keeps her out of the house almost all day. Please pray for her. She needs it. Satan isn’t ever happy about new angels in God´s kingdom. 

Under the temple is a little tent where they sell custom made mormon knick knacks like key chains and CTR shirts and stuff. She bought a key chain that says "SUD" which is "LDS" in portuguese. She put in straight on her keys and she was so excited. hahaha. When we were driving home from the temple she stopped to get us Japanese food! It was so sweet of her. And very inspired because when we got out of the car.....we heard a nasty hissing sound and discovered her tire was slowly seeping lower to the ground. Seeing as how we were in the middle of Campinas she freaked out. We hopped into the car and with shaking hands and lots of "oh crappppssss" she desperately started looking for a gas station. Not surprisingly Sister M and I were totally calm. We said a prayer and sure enough....a gas station popped up and a nice guy helped us switch out her tire. We took the missionary moment to point out that God is protecting her as one of the blessings of her decision. She was very startled but became really happy when we pointed that out. She took the new found peace she felt from our words to take some pictures and post them on instagram. It is so funny teaching a young adult. hahahaha. Spiritual moments are always just so facebook worthy. ;) hahaha. Anyways we got really good food and made it home safely. Quite the adventure. 

We visited the family we are teaching  and P (the mom) told us an interesting story. Monday was a huge thunder storm. M (the dad) was on the roof fixing the antenna when he felt very strongly that he should get off the roof. He immediately climbed down and the minute he was inside the house lighting struck the antenna and burned out all their electronics....but M was safe. H (the son, now 11) was very startled by the event and quite traumatized. So when we visited yesterday we called a ward member who lives close by and he came and gave H a blessing. It was very spiritual. We also invited M to say a prayer as a family on our knees and to ask if the church is true. He did. He cried the whole prayer. It was a beautiful prayer. And I think he got his answer. He just is too scared to follow it for now. But P and M are becoming more and more impressed with the church and are really RECOGNIZING that God has been more present in their lives since we started visiting. I have confidence they will be baptized one day. I just don’t know when that day will be. They are hard work this family. But they are so special. We wont give up. 

When she walked us out, P made a comment about how it was going to rain and she forgot to buy a new umbrella. As we were walking away....I told Sister M that we were going to come back in a few minutes here. She asked why and I told her "We´re going to go buy P an umbrella!" She laughed (I think she thought I was kidding) and we literally ran down the hill to the first little shop we found and bought an umbrella. We then ran back and arranged the umbrella on the door and went home. It was fun. :) P called later that night and told us that never before had she seen such a precious and heart felt umbrella. She told us she will never ever throw it out. It felt really good to do something nice for her. I really love her and her family. 

Anyways….I'll stop going on and on and let you guys get back to your lives. But just as a spiritual message this week.....

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3267475157001

This video really demonstrates the importance and the true meaning of loving one another. All of us are different but to our Heavenly Father we are all His children. May we look for those who are struggling, picked on, or who are needing a friend. Take the challenge that Jesus gave to all of us to “love one another, as I have loved you.”

I love you all. Have a great week. <3 

Sister Heyer