Dengue Fever, Transferred, and "the most peaceful feeling in the whole wide world"

Sister Little and Sister Bastos

This week was.....interesting....yeah...

Highlights

Birthday of Sister Bastos!!! Woohoo! Foi ótimo!! Super great! May I just say that for the last three months, Heavenly Father blessed me with an angel for a companion-and the best angel He has around at that!!! She is so funny, works so hard, teaches incredibly well, and she has so much love for everyone-me included! She has very literally changed my mission and shown me a vision of the Sister I want to become. I will be grateful for my Sister Bastos forever. In all honestly, she is the best, most humble, funniest, strongest example! I have a great big gratitude bubble in my heart for her. 

 

"And a favorite Brazilian tradition...egg bath on your birthday! But we got a little excited with us both giving an egg bath on the other...and here´s us washing out our hair with a member´s hose...haha!!! Good times!!!"

The rest of the week was go, go, go....until I ended up in the hospital (hospital sounds worse than it really is.....that´s just the "doctor" here.....EVERYONE goes straight to the hospital...I don´t like the hospital.....FYI......blek.....) with a sinus infection and dengue fever. Yup....it´s been quite the weekend....only to get more interesting the next day when we got news of the transfer....and that I´ve been transferred!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the first time that I´ve been transferred yet. I´ve been in my first area for over 4 months now. Phew.....ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!!!! That´s my war cry right now....now I´ve just got to pack...and sleep...haha ha ha.... X]

 

"This was after the egg bath and a real bath on her birthday! Yup!! That´s what an angel looks like, everyone!!! ;D"

 

Spiritual highlight this week was about being grateful. Last night with transfers, Sister Bastos and I had some very tender moments. Lots of hugging and crying and being grateful (I´d NEVER seen S.Bastos cry until last night. Yup. We cried a lot. Good cry, yeah).  I am SO GRATEFUL for her and everything she´s taught me, EVERYTHING! It was really sweet for her to see a glimpse of who she is and the difference she makes-she doesn´t see it. This is why EXPRESSING gratitude is so important. Wow. Everything is just so perfect!

 

 But it was really good as well, to pray and know that what I´ve done here in Paulínia pleases the Lord. That was the most peaceful feeling in the whole wide world. I want to work everyday to be able to have that feeling for eternity. Leave every person better than you found them, and express gratitude for everything. Everything! Times passes fast; I´m learning more and more to enjoy the moment. I think that this is how God lives- He has plans (really good ones-ETERNAL plans!), and then He lets His preparation play out moment to moment. I want to be more like this. 

OH!!!! But I did hear about a crazy cool revelation in the book of John in the bible that says EXACTLY what happened after church this last Sunday. Read John 7:53. CRAZY REAL!!!!! Read it and see!!! Super ...WOW!!!!

The only other thing is a great big happy birthday shout out to that Daddy of Mine!!!!!!!! He´s for sure the greatest! Thank you Dad for everything you´ve taught me about hard work, honesty, loving everyone around you, serving in the church with ALL of your strength, time, force, and faith, and about how to love and provide for a family. More than anything you taught me exactly what to look for in a husband and father for my children. Did you know that when I was little, Mom told me that she married the best man in the world, and I cried for nights on end because I thought that there was no one left in the world for me that would be as good as my Dad? Yup...I was a paranoid child...BUT know that I sure loved and always will love my daddy!!!! You are my hero, and that will never change. Know that all those times that I became nervous with your advice, was just because I wanted to be just like you and make you the proudest dad ever. Know that I'm still trying, and EVERY word of advice you give goes straight to the heart!!! LOVE YOU TONS AND HAPPY FORTY SOMETHING BIRTHDAY!!!! (It´s 44, right....? Tenho dúvidas agora...)

So yes. Keep going. Every cloud has a silver lining. Everything has a purpose, and so do you!!! Read Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5, 7-9.  This makes EVERYTHING worth it!!

A glimpse at the everyday details

YES!!!! I got the packages this week! I LOVE THE SHIRT and everything!!!!! The M&M´s were SO GOOD I CAN´T EVEN TELL YOU (and sadly gone bc Sister Bastos loves cookies de M&M, so I made some, and now they´re gone. Haha! Too good! Funny thing, Sister Bastos is JUST LIKE CAMERON when it comes to surprises, so she already opened BOTH the presents you sent for Christmas. The necklaces are BEAUTIFUL, Mom!!! And Sister Bastos pretty much screamed when she opened the pens. She has been using them everyday with EXTRAORDINARY care! She said that you read her mind. She can´t stop talking about how amazing you are, and your generosity, and good heart, and EVERYTHING! She loves you to pieces!!! (But still not as much as me! ;D)

This is steak....ha...ha..haha...hahaha....*começa saudades do churrasco do sul!!!!!* [commence longing for Southern Barbecue!]

 American pancakes and Sister Hay´s fantastic, amazing, wonderful, incredible syrup!!(EVERYONE loved them!!! Congrats, Sister Hay! ;D)

 PacMan... just 'cause!

I made myself a notebook for recipes! Woohoo!!!

This is me writing in my journal by candlelight one night during a storm that cut the power. This was the beaautiful part...the part of sweating, sweating, sweeeeeaaating and NOT sleeping until the power came back at 4:30 in the morning because it was SO UNBEARABLY HOT without our fans was the less beautiful part....but the candlelight is still beautiful!!!

 

Finally, after 6 years of always being there in the exact minute I needed him, my right-hand man died this morning (haha...that was funny...)......through Philmont, early morning seminary, cross country, college, rain, sunshine, snow, more sunshine, lots of heat, and more heat ], and lots of heat, and superglue to fix the breaks, and rubber bands, and more superglue (and probably more super glue), and everyday from the start of my mission, he finally passed away this morning (unfortunately it wasn´t peaceful either.....seizures of numbers and beeping after having fog under his glass all week...) So, now I´ll be headed to the shingy-lingy to find a replacement ..... sleep well, my watch...you´ve been a good friend.

A chance to SING! - "The gifts we have aren't ours."

Grabbed an old picture today - she's had technology problems and hasn't sent any new pics in a few weeks!

Cool thing this week. I got to SING! I was asked by a sister in our ward to sing for a stake activity. They lipsang and acted a bunch of parts from The Sound of Music, but she wanted me to sing the first opening song. So -  Super cool! Until they showed the clip of Julie Andrews singing it....right before me....like when I was already on the stage....yup....Julie Andrews....my hero...yeah....no comparison.....BUT!!! I prayed before the activity that I´d be able to fill the expectations of the Irmã for her activity and that everyone would enjoy it, and guess what!!!! Without training for MONTHS, I SANG!!! It felt SO GOOD! Everything that I had practiced forever before the mission just came back, and BETTER! I´m WAY MORE RELAXED here, and that makes singing WAY easier! My comp told me after that she videoed it, so I´ll try to find a way to send that. But after. Wow. Everyone is SO KIND!!! They said that it was wonderful, and as good as Julie Andrews or better (super sweet-take that compliment with a grain of salt-whoa!), and that I´ll be in the next remake of the Sound of Music. All said and done, SUPER FUN and SO GOOD to really, really, SING again!

And beyond all of that-such a testimony of doing the best things. Studying, practicing, continuing my life back at home would have been a good thing, but God knew what would be BEST for me, and with His help, I can still use the gifts He´s given me even when my focus is somewhere else. A HUGE testimony that the gifts we have aren´t ours. They´re GIFTS and God will use them in the way He needs, and those gifts sure work a whole lot better when we let Him do the driving!

 I´m super grateful for what I´m learning here on a mission.  I´m learning how to stay happy when things are happy and when they´re sad, or the days when you´re irritable, or just tired and your body wants to flop. If you´re happy, people will want more of what you have. If not, who will want what we have? So keep on a keepin' on. Forgive others, and refrain from judging. Life is WAY happier when you don´t judge others. I´ll never forget what I heard one time from a friend - that what he wants to be remembered for after his life is that he never judged anyone. Yeah. That´s the kind of charity that I want to develop.  Mother Theresa said "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." And the same goes for loving yourself. See not who you are, but who you WANT to be and who you CAN be and ARE throught the Atonement. Everything will line up to become that when you think and work in that manner. Remember, if you don´t love yourself, you can´t love others.

So, I love you all, and send my prayers and faith!!! Keep on keeping strong!!

Sister Little  (At church, I´m now "Sister Little-Andrews"...Talk about childhood dreams come true! Haha!)

Life is simply better when you DECIDE to believe in something!

This has been the best week and one of the more trying weeks.....I think this explanation works for every week in the mission....haha!

I´m  learning a LOT about faith! My comp is a Sister Training Leader right now, so every week, we'll have two days of splits. ("Splits" are when each of them go out and work with a different missionary companion for the day.) This last week was our first. I was SCARED OUT OF MY MIND for these two days. How was I going to lead everything without her? What if I didn´t understand? How was I going to make effective contacts? HOw? How? HOw? HOw? hOw??!?!?!!? Well, I promised Heavenly FAther that I was going to pretend that I am the missionary that I wanted to be, and I was just going to need a lot of help. GUESS WHAT!!!!! THOSE WERE THE BEST TWO DAYS OF MY MISSION YET!!!! I was happy, I joked with everyone, I was bold, I taught (I actually talked TOO much, and had to back off to give my comp more chances to talk), and I made contacts out the wazoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I´m SO excited to keep this up!!! I need to learn how to lead more even when I´m with my normal companion-not be afraid to do well. It was amazing. 

The other thing I learned about faith was with the baptism of _______. I´ve never so adamantly believed in something before. Every time a little voice or doubt crept in, I killed that little bugger!!!!!! "________WILL BE BAPTIZED SATURDAY!" Seriously, I believed this with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. We did EVERYTHING we could to help him with his testimony, help him understand, have hope, and feel ready. But...............he wasn´t baptized.........so why did I feel so GOOD believing in this? It really shook me that I could believe so firmly, and then...KABOOM!!! Slap in the face, it doesn´t happen. 

Well, what I learned is that I was happy this week. Excited, and I was on FIRE. Conclusion: Life is simply better when you DECIDE to believe in something. Whe you have faith, you have a purpose, and you work for something. This will ALWAYS be better than being pessimistic, depressed, and lost with no purpose or direction. We´re not meant to simply drift though life aimlessly and half-dead. LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO DO SOMETHING GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DECIDE to beilieve in something good, and then chase after it with everything you´ve got. Faith is ignoring those voices of doubt, and even the voices of reason. Some people may call you blind, but I´d rather be blind, happy and accomplish something with my life that have my eyes open to the doubt and fear in life and live under a rock until I die. 

Sister Hinckley speaks my heart:

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.” 
― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

So yeah. LIVE this week. Choose something to believe in with your whole heart, and then go out and GET IT DONE!!! Remember that you chose this path before this life, and you were so strong. You´re that same person now, you just don´t remember, so pretend that you´re that same strong, capable, loving, patient, consistent, awesome, amazing, faith filled person that you TRULY are, and be ready for the surprising outcome. 

LOVE YOU ALL and have the GREATEST week EVER!!!

Síster Little!! <3

It's not too good to be true. It's too good because it IS true!!

This is my email to President Hill this week. It pretty much captures my thoughts and feelings right now. GO AND DO WITH FAITH!!!! JUST BE HAPPY, EXCITED, AND GO CONQUER THE WORLD!!!

I´m honestly EXCITED for this week. Just EXCITED!!!! I´m learning a lot about what faith is lately. Faith is not listening to the voices of reason all around us and in our head. Faith is telling yourself that fear doesn´t exist. Faith is remembering who you were before your life, and being that same person now! My dad LOVES to solve problems and innovate solutions. He´s SO good, and I´ve always admired this in him. The thing that stands out to me most now, is what I´ve always heard him say whenever anyone questions the probability or possibility of the task he was taking on. His response has always been simple and direct, "Well, why not?" This is my new motto! Why not?! Why can´t we be great? Isn´t that what we´ve been sent here to be? Why can´t we baptize every week? If you´ve told us to do it, that means it´s not only possible, it´s EXPECTED! So why not?!?! When we have plans to reach our goals, the only thing that´s lacking is the doing and the Heavenly help. So DO and SEE the results! See them before they happen! Have faith, believe with everything you´ve got! When that little doubting voice tries to creep in, JOGA FORA [THROW IT AWAY]! 

It´s possible. That´s what I´m learning. It´s not easy because this is the work of the Savior, and His life wasn´t easy, but because His life wasn´t easy, and because he gave EVERYTHING, it´s possible!!!

Things here are lining up as you said they would. I need to not think that´s it´s "too good to be true" because it´s not. It´s too good because it IS true! We are working with some amazing people, and I´m learning SO MUCH from them and from Sister Bastos. My goal this week is to decide to be a different person than I was last week-in specific, with my contacts. I´ve learned a lot about HOW to make them now, and I can speak Portuguese SO much better than in he beginning, but I haven´t been able to lose the fear. So, I´ve decided that I´m just going to ignore it because it´s almost impossible to hear the Spirit when you´re scared out of your wits. So today and forward, I´m not the Sister Little that is afraid of what will happen if I open my mouth. Today and forward, I am an instrument in the Lord´s hand, and it´s His work that I´m doing, and when I give what I have, He makes it so much more. 

Thank you, as always, for your patience and dedication. Have a FANTASTIC week! The best week EVER!

Love you all so much! Keep being who the Lord knows you are!

Sister Little!!!

João 16:33

D&C 50:44-46 (I think that´s right....about little children....maybe its flipped