Friday, July 18, 2014

It's world cup time!

May 26, 2014

So this week was a hot one. We had a family home afternoon with one of the recent converts in the branch. Sister C. made brownies, so it was a huge success. Last week we climbed to the Christus, which happens to be at the highest point in this town... it´s not that high but it gives you a chance to see that we literally live in the middle of nothing. I would send pictures but my memory card has a bit of a virus and I need to see someone smart to get it fixed. Nothing really spectacular happened this week. Wait we got milk shakes on saturday, that was pretty great. I hope all is well with y'all. and I want pictures of my nephew please. Thanks your awesome. I'm glad you're my mom.:)

Sister Leonard


My last day in Natal with Sister C we climbed the dunes to watch the sunrise.




Jun 2, 2014

This week we did divisions. I was with Sister A., who I lived with in Abolição. so it was good I learned lots. but I'm glad to be with my companion again:) this area is really beautiful and really hilly. we’ve learned its much easier to descend hills if you just let gravity help. so we have fun running down all the hills here. we are working hard to find solid investigators. we do a lot of teaching and what not, it just to help the people progress they are a little lazy... they pray and receive answers its just they live a comfortable life style... which means they can break the commandments and no one tells them they are wrong. I think about the last general conference

June 2, 2014

(I don't remember who said it but,) one of the general authorities said we don't have a comfortable God who will let you do what ever you want, we have a loving and merciful God, but he cant look on the least bit of sin. people don't like to be told their wrong, or what they are doing is wrong. we speak with love and speak of the blessings that come with obedience but sometimes I want to smack them. but then I think Jesus wouldn’t do that... but all in all its good we just have to keep moving forward and search for the people that have already been prepared. I'm as happy as ever. love you all,
Sister Leonard

June 9, 2014

Thrown for a loop

So that was weird reading your email and finding out Elder B.W. is officially done with his mission... but that´s what was meant to happen I guess. I got a letter from the stake this week... which means about 10 youth had written me at youth conference. I'm already responding to the letters so you can tell them to expect letters in the next 3 weeks or so.
this week was a miracle. So before I arrived here in Brazil, President Costa visited the mission and promised the missionaries if they reactivated a less active they would baptize as well. so this week I got a testimony of that in a really unexpected way. so we have a list of less actives and through out the week we visit them, find out why they stopped going to church and help them come back. so there are two brothers George and Jorge....(who comes up with these names?) anyway we met George first and he told us his brother Jorge was also baptized. only we didn't have his record. so we looked in the archives, called up São Paulo, no one had his record.... but he remembers being baptized and confirmed. so there are two things we could do, call up the witnesses who were elders from 5 years back or re-baptize him. so we asked him what he wanted to do and he said ´I can have a 2nd chance again?´ so he was baptized this saturday, and everyone was really happy. 
Thats my fun miracle for this week. Love you all. thanks for the prayers and support
Sister Leonard

June 16, 2014

So this week was irregular. We have permission to watch the world cup, but only when Brazil plays because literally the country shuts down for the games. Also we had a conference on friday in Caicó. Elder Leal of the 70 came to talk to us. Sister Soares talked about how the decisions we make here and now don't just affect us but generations of people. It's not just for this life time but for eternity. President Soares talked about the atonement and how we can use it not only in our lives but the lives of our investigators. Sister Leal talked about connecting the generations through indexing/family history and doing the work in the temple. and Elder Leal talked about Lehi´s dream and how it relates to the mission. a quote I really liked was you can count the number of seeds in an apple but you cant count how many apples that will come from that one seed. talking about how our labors aren't in vain every little bit has a huge impact. it´s officially winter here which means its still hot but gets a tiny bit cooler at night. it´s the little miracles daily that make the mission that much more enjoyable.
Next week is transfers so i´ll be on on wednesday. love you all. Cheerio!
Sister Leonard
Sister Cunha and I.... go brazil!



June 25, 2014

transfers
So here are the results: Sister C was transferred to Natal and Sister de J will be my new comp. woohoo! Brazilians. She should get here in about 2 hours. This week was good. We are working a lot with a guy named Luciano he drinks a lot. But he is working hard to give it up to follow Christ. President Viana (counselor to president Soares) came and visited our branch this week. it was really great he talked about how important the members are in the work. how we need to get out of our comfort zone to befriend those who are new to the gospel or who are shy. we also had a fireside about family history and how we cant be saved with out our dead. we have the opportunity hear it, know and enjoy the blessings the come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those who didn’t have the opportunity are being taught on the other side of the veil, they are waiting for their ordinances to be done. so take 30 min each day and index or find your relatives.... I know these things are important. I'm enjoying the work here. 
June 25, 2014

sunsets here are really pretty.
first missionary in Cajazeiras... do you see the name tag?

June 26, 2014




June 30, 2014

Minha Luz

This week was busy yet it looks like nothing was accomplished. we are working a ton here, we have lots of people to teach and not enough time. but that´s okay this week we are going to be doing some divisions to help with that. the world cup was kinda getting in the way as well. Ithink Ialmost  died like 7 times this week(of a heart attack) because after the games or during holidays every one lights off fireworks in the middle of the street... let me just say the entire month of june is a holiday... literally. so there are always little kids and drunk adults lighting off these little bombs in the middle of the street and they don't have a phrase in portuguese for `heads up´ so I'm entertaining all the Brazilians here in Cajazeiras, every time a firework goes off it´s followed by laugher and something to the effect of `did you see that americans face?! do it again hahahahha` its great Ilove it. 
This week we are going to start an english class. That'll be fun because iv’e forgotten most of my english. All in all this week was a good one. Ilove being able to say that Jesus walks with my every single day.  haha Sister de Jesus is awesome I'm excited to work with her:) 
until next week.
Sister Leonard

July 7, 2014

July Already?
This week was good. we worked a lot with the members to visit less actives. We started an english class and baptized Luciano. we started teaching him about 6 weeks ago and he had issues with drinking and smoking but nothing is impossible for God. We saw a lot of miracles this week with his progress. also this week I got to enter the distributer of coke. and Jorge e Mateus were here in Caja. not that that means anything for you but here in brazil they are kinda a big deal, I don't think i´ll have time to send pics this week but I will next:) love you love Lee





who says mormons cant drink coke?






july 14, 2014
This week was a good one. we had a fun activity on Saturday, we played ridiculous games with every one separated into classes... I'm with the primary... and I'm pretty sure we are going to win haha. this week I was reading about the people in the Americas after christ visited (4th Nephi) and I really liked how the people we super unified and how in the scriptures Mormon  writes that there never was a happier people... out of all the people that God created these were the happiest, can you imagine the joy these people had. but why? was it because bad things stopped happening? no. people got sick, and had hard times. but every one was living the commandments, everyone was entitled to the blessing of heaven, they had the faith to be healed and to do miracles. they were unified in Christ. what type of people are we? are we always looking to get gain or to help our neighbor have the blessing we have. are we being good examples for those around us? are we truly thinking what is it that Christ would do in this situation, because we learn doing what is right has a price, but it´s always worth the pain. I love the Book of Mormon (the actual book with in the BOM) Ilove the love that mormon has for the Lamanites and I love how important the commandments are to him. so this week if you have a bit of time read 4th nephIand the book of mormon. that´s what Iv’e been studying.  we can learn a lot about the atonement and how it's not just for a remission of our sins but it has enabling power to help us avoid sinning in the first place. love you all, I'm working on sending pictures.
Sister Leonard 


July 14, 2014  bobbing for apples... I won