"Feliz Aniversário" from the mission field!

                                                                                                                  April 4, 2016

 

Oi!!! Muito obrigada por todos vocês que me enviaram parabéns!!! Sou muito grata pelo seu amor!!! 

  

Last night I read all of your birthday letters-- I couldn´t wait to open them today, and I absolutely loved all of your kind words!!
You all mean so much to me, and let me tell you that I thought so much about each one of you this General Conference!!!

This past week I ate all of the birthday candy and gave a lot away to friends of our district, and investigators to have a taste of the United States!! 

 

Because it was a P-day, we went to a fancy
restaurant and celebrated my birthday lunch.



I can't believe I'm 20!

Look at this yummy fancy dessert!

You know how much I love dessert!

Yesterday was incredible!!!! José, Vitor, the grandmother of Vitor, named Yolanda, Maria Luiza, Thaíssa, and Ester came to General Conference and felt the Spirit!! Maria Luiza told us that she has stopped drinking coffee--she is one of the strongest old ladies I know--I need to post a picture of her for each one of you!!! Also, José attended a baptismal service yesterday of a young child who was baptized in the ward, and he decided to choose his baptismal date for the 17th of April!!! As for Ester, she also had the opportunity to see the baptism of a young boy, and we are going to follow up with her this week about her feelings towards baptism. We think that she is having trouble accepting baptism because she is worried about what her family will think of her changing religions from being Catholic to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. 

 

This past week I had some incredible spiritual experiences I would like to share with you all.

 

One day we decided to visit Rafaela, and we didn´t get the chance to teach her fully, but she said that she was reading the pamphlet we left with her about the Restoration, and she said that ever since the first time we met with her, she felt so much peace in her heart. She told us that as she prayed at the end of the first lesson we had with her, she realized how grateful she was for the little things that Heavenly Father had given her, and that she hadn´t ever really thanked him for small blessings in her life. Sister Cellurale and I felt the spirit so strongly after talking to her, and as soon as we left her house, we danced/ jumped up and down with excitement for her progress, and knew that she was elect and has been prepared by the Lord. We are going to teach her and her husband tomorrow officially about the Restoration, and invite them to be baptized!! 

This past week I also had the opportunity to feel the Spirit touch the heart of an Irma da Igreja whose son struggled with his testimony and now lives in the United States. I told her about a family member who had also gone through some hard struggles, but how my parents had responded with unconditional love and through feeling this love, his testimony was strengthened. I felt the spirit so strongly as I testified to this sweet Irma who was passing through a difficult time in her life, and we cried together. I told her that Heavenly Father never gives up on His children. He loves them unconditionally, even when they may give up on Him.



Also, this past week we had the opportunity to teach an MTC instructor who felt as though her testimony was wavering. She is a recent-returned missionary, and one day she said that she woke up and didn´t have a desire to pray to heavenly Father, and this thought really scared her. She didn´t want to fall away from the Church, and she didn´t want to lose her testimony that she had gained in her mission. We decided to sit down with her and teach her about the Atonement. I remember feeling the Spirit so strongly as I read a scripture about the Garden of Gethsemane, the prayer that Jesus Christ offered to Heavenly Father, and testified that Jesus Christ was pleading with the Father after enduring so much pain. He didn´t want to face what He had faced, Yet he DIDN`T GIVE UP. He didn´t give up because He trusted in the will of the Lord, and he Did the will of an all-knowing Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father doesn´t give up on His children.

Satan will do everything in his power to try the testimonies of returned missionaries, and force them to disbelieve in Christ and their Father in Heaven, but Jesus Christ has the power to do the opposite--He allows us to come unto the Father, and allows to find the greatest of all gifts--eternal life.

 

As for Vitor, he is super excited for his baptismal day, and we are going to teach him and his mom with the bishop tomorrow night to receive her permission. Maria Luiza is also super excited to be baptized by her grandson, and I showed her a picture of photos of my family, and she said that I have a beautiful family, and that mom is really young!!! haha

I love you all!! The words of the Prophet continually run through my mind that we need to choose the difficult right rather than the easy wrong choice in our lives. This life wasn´t meant to be easy, but was meant to be rewarding and worth it. 


We must follow Pres. Monson's counsel to choose the right, even when it is difficult.  As we choose Christ, He will help us endure the storms of life and feel the joy
that the gospel brings!

Remember, we must endure the heat and press forward in faith!



I love each and everyone of you!!




























This past week I learned so much about the Holy Ghost--how we need to receive it in our lives, and not just depend on it. We need to do our part to allow it to be our constant companion, and not just wait for it to comfort our hearts and make decisions for us.

 

I hope you all know that I pray for each one of you each and every day. You are all role models to me, and I am so grateful for your sweet testimonies and strength in the Church. 

 

MUITO AMOR, Sister Harris