Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

                                             

                                                                                            Nov. 23, 2015                                              

                  

 

   

   FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO pra vocês POPS e THEO  esta semana!!! Parabéns Theo e Rebekah for your newborn Jade!! She is absolutely adorable!!!

      

     HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

 

It is so crucially important to be

            grateful for everything we have been given!!

We are nothing without our

          Heavenly Father and we must live in gratitude daily! 

 

     I am so grateful for God's love for us and I want to bear my testimony of this love.  

 

My companion and I are having more and more opportunities to strengthen recent converts and I wanted to share an experience we had this week. We always express our love for them, and expressed how much Heavenly Father loves them. Yesterday, we taught a recent convert who is 16 years old named Gabi, who was hurt emotionally by some members in the ward. It´s a long story, but at the beginning of the lesson with her, I didn´t know quite what to teach. I prayed to Heavenly Father silently in my heart that I would be able to teach her what Heavenly Father wanted her to hear. I did just that because I felt so much love in my heart for her. The minute I opened my mouth, I said the words, We want you to know that we love you so much, and especially, Heavenly Father loves you so much. You are a representative of a Jesus Christ. I started to sob because of how much love I felt in my heart for Gabi. She had been offended by some members, and she really needed to hear of Heavenly Father´s love for her.

I know our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and is anxious for us to know and understand this love!

We were also able to attend Veronica's baby shower and I wanted to share a couple of pictures.

I love you all so much!! Every time I bear testimony of the importance of families, I feel of your love, and Heavenly Father´s love for you all!!

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving, and remember how much your Heavenly Father loves you and knows each one of you individually!!

 

 

Love,

Sister Harris

                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on what we know! Have faith--not fear!!

                                                                                                                  Nov. 16, 2015 

                                                                                                                         

 Oi familia!! So, tomorrow begins the first day of a new transfer, and I get to stay in Cotia with my companion Sister Bezerra for Christmas, which means you are all going to be able to meet her!! She is fantastic, doesn´t speak much English, but is AMAZING IN EVERY WAY!!

I´m so glad you will all have the opportunity to meet her over Skype at Christmas!!

 

 

 

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a training meeting for all of the new missionaries in the Sao Paulo West mission, and the President, President Del Guerso, spoke about something that really helped me refocus in the mission. He said that, for those who are learning the language and are getting overwhelmed with teaching lessons, that we should just focus on what we DO know, and we will carry the message of the restoration of the gospel into the hearts of the people here in Brasil. He said that we already know what is true, and it is important that, like the parable of the talents, we let our Heavenly Father strengthen us to double our talents and magnify our calling.

 

"Faith cannot exist with fear!" (Pres. Monson)

Also, this past week I looked back on my notes from Prophet Thomas S. Monson from the recent general conference, and he said something along the lines of faith cannot exist with fear. I took both of these things to heart, and have been talking to people on the streets by myself while my companion talks to other people on the streets by herself, and I have trusted in my own testimony, and the faith that I have that my Heavenly Father can help me in all things. I have praying for strength throughout the day, and not just when I desperately need help, and I have seen the Lord´s hand more in my life. Faith cannot exist with fear or doubt.

 

Yesterday, our ward had ward conference, and before then, our district had a district fast in which we would fast to find more people who are prepared to hear the gospel, and that more people would attend Sacrament meeting on Sunday. Let me tell you all that Heavenly Father truly consecrated the fast of my companion and I. We found two new investigators, Daniel and Veronica, who are a married couple and have one child, and also Veronica is 8-months pregnant with another, who have a strong desire to learn more about the Church. Yesterday they both attended sacrament meeting, and learned a lot about the Book of Mormon. Shortly after Church, we taught them about the Restoration, and gave them a book of mormon. They were both so excited to read, and fought over who would read it first (we only had one book of mormon to give them). Another miracle: Sandro, a young man about 23 years old attended Sacrament meeting, and he has a strong knowledge of the Bible. Before Sunday, he said that he didn´t think he could attend Church on sunday because he needed to visit his brother the morning of, but I was sitting in Sacrament by a recent convert and her family, when all of a sudden the Stake president asked all of the visitors to stand up in the congregation so that the Sister missionaries could give them a present ( a Liahona magazine). I turned around in my seat to look at who came to the Sacrament meeting, not knowing that Sandro had made it yet, and there he was with a great big smile on his face. Immediately I felt the Spirit rush through my heart, testifying to me that the Lord had heard Sister Bezerra´s and my fast and prayers, and was working with us for the Salvation of his children. Sandro has to travel a lot this week, so we may not be able to teach him for a while, but we are going to continue to work with him concerning the truths of the Book of Mormon.

 

As for Karina, we haven´t been able to teach her this past week because she can only be taught later at night, and we have to catch a hard-to-catch bus before the schedule that she returns from work, but this week, we´re going to try to find a ride from a member so we can arrive in our house at night before 9 o clock. I have a feeling that before Christmas, Daniel and Veronica will be baptized, Karina also, and hopefully Sandro!! They are some of God´s elect, and I have so much love in my heart for them!! Veronica already invited us to her Baby Shower after the first lesson!! She is super sweet!!

We had a goodbye party for Sister Barbosa who has completed her mission and has headed home! Here are a few pictures from our celebration. 



I hope you all have a wonderful week!! LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!!!

 

Sister Harris

With HIM, we can do ALL THINGS!

                                                                                                               Nov. 9, 2015
 

Oi Família!! I hope you are all doing so well!! I have had such a wonderful week recently, and have learned so much about trusting in the Lord.

This morning I was reading in Genesis 22:1-18 about the story of Abraham and Isaac, and Abraham offering his only beloved son, Isaac, who he loved dearly, as a sacrifice because the Lord tried his faith, and asked him to do so. Immediately, Abraham followed the counsel of the Lord, laid Isaac down on an alter, and was about to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord until an angel descended from Heaven and told him not to. The Lord provided a way, however, because soon after he was told not to sacrifice his son, the Lord provided an animal for him to sacrifice instead. The angel visited him soon after, a second time, and pronounced blessings upon him and his posterity because of how much faith he had in the Lord to be obedient to His commandments.

 

This week I had an experience where I learned of the importance of recognizing the Spirit and trusting in it. It´s a bit personal, so I´m not going to go into details, but I know with all my heart that, like Nephi, not knowing beforehand the things which he should do before entering the estate of Laban to receive the plates, we too, need to trust Heavenly Father with all our heart, overcoming the nature of man to doubt our own capabilities or doubting the capabilities of Heavenly Father, that the Lord will provide a way for us to accomplish the thing which he has commanded us. Like Abraham, the Lord is going to test us, to prove us, to see if we are faithful and completely loyal to Him and to His commandments, and we will receive the greatest of blessings, that are far beyond our comprehension, if we do so. I know that the Lord loves each and everyone of us. I know that the Lord gave his only Begotten son to take away the sins of the world, to give each one of us hope and joy in this life. There are far more blessings than we can comprehend that come because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and if we will just trust completely in the Lord, even if we may not see the complete picture at first, he will trust in us, and pour out even more of his blessings. I know that we are here on this Earth to walk in faith. We can see the fruits of our faith only if we act. Some of the hardest parts of our lives will be when we are put in a situation when we need to act with faith, and I know that the Lord will bless us if we do so. Trust in Him, for He knows all things. He knows our past, our present state, and our future, and He knows us each individually. With Him, we can do ALL THINGS. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK FAMILY!!! Eu AMO VOCÊS!!!! 

 

I love being a missionary and serving in Brazil!!!

 

 

I wanted to share a few pictures of the fun animals that we have seen: 

 

 

Love, Sister Harris

Heavenly Father Prepares His Children to Receive the Gospel!

                                                                                                                Nov. 3, 2015

 

Oi Familia!!! So, today I had the opportunity to go to the temple in São Paulo, so my P-day was changed just for this week to Tuesday!!! I have so much to tell you, but so little time!!

  

First off, this past week was the first week in my mission that I realized that Heavenly Father really prepares His Children to receive the Gospel, and that He really is working with us in this marvelous work. My companion and I had been a bit discouraged and worried about the people we were teaching who weren´t keeping their commitments in São Miguel, a neighborhood most of our investigators were from. However, we decided it was time to explore a new area, and put our trust and faith in our Heavenly Father that we could find some of His elect. We sincerely prayed for a miracle, and that´s exactly what we received.

We explored a new area we haven´t been to yet in the mission, that is called Colinas, and it is absolutely Zion!

 

While exploring Colinas, we were making contacts with people on the streets, when all of a sudden we approached a woman named Carina and her young daughter named Lorena. We talked with her about the role of missionaries, and especially the Atonement, and she expressed her feelings how both the missionaries and the people they teach are edified together. She began crying when she talked about her daughter and how life is difficult, and I almost began to cry with her! I kept getting the impression from the Spirit that told me to just let her express her feelings and share her testimony, and that she will come to see that Sister Bezerra and I are representatives of Jesus Christ by doing so. My eyes got watery and I felt so much love in my heart for her. Closer to the end of the mini lesson regarding the Atonement, I expressed my testimony that we are never alone because we always have our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ to guide and direct us through the ups and downs of life. We had the opportunity to say a prayer with her in her home at the end of our visit, and she was so grateful afterwards. She repeatedly expressed her gratitude for us visiting her. After the prayer, while talking with my companion about Carina, I kept feeling the comfort/warmth of the Spirit rush through my body, and I KNEW that she was sent as a blessing for us. She is definitely ready to be taught the truths of the restored gospel, and this Wednesday we´re going to teach her, and invite her to be baptized. I am very confident that the Lord has placed her in our path to strengthen us, as we help her come closer to Jesus Christ. 

 

Sis. Dias and I get to work together for a day

This past week I had my first experience with splits with another Sister Missionary for one day--Sister Dias. I had the opportunity to teach with Sister Dias in her area of Cotia, so I got the chance to know some of her investigators and members in another part of Cotia. During the division, I had a really cool experience with a member of another ward. The member is less active, but she was sharing many difficult experiences with us about her conversion story/her being a single mother of six children, working non-stop to provide for her family. She told about how she had lived in her house for 30 years , and she compared the gospel to fixing parts of her home that are weak. She can´t do it all at one, but step by step, day by day. While she was speaking about preparing her home, a spiritual impression came to my mind that right now in this life, we´re preparing our eternal home. Day by day, we make several choices that determine the beauty and cleanliness of our eternal kingdom in the end. I felt the Spirit so strongly during this lesson, and I didn´t even know the woman for very long, yet had already so much love in my heart for her.

 

I know that this life isn´t easy, and I know that Heavenly Father´s plan for us requires challenges, and difficulties. We can overcome anything, however, with His help, through the mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

 

I want to share just a few more pictures: 

Sis. Bezerra and I enjoying time with Emily and Cesar. 

Emily gave me this funny little baby doll!

 

Sister Bezerra and I enjoying copoacu--a Brazilian drink



Halloween/Birthday Party for Sis. Oldroyd

The Good Witches of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Here is a scripture for you all this week that I LOVE: 3 Nephi 28:1. Think about the importance of doing the Father´s will this week, and asking yourself what the Lord would require of you until the very end!!

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!

Sister Harris