If we turn to Him, we can rejoice in His love!

                                                                                                         Oct. 24, 2016

Oi Família!!!

 

So, I forgot to tell you all last week that I was released from serving as Sister Training Leader this transfer. The President had confused some decisions he had made, and I didn´t know until later. But, I´m still a mom to a wonderful daughter and enjoy training Sis. Salles.
 

 Sister Salles is incredible! She is super obedient and she is pushing me to work harder. We get along

really well.

 

Fun Fact: Everyone here in Brasil thinks that she´s American hahaha. In the last Sunday meeting, the Relief Society counselor asked her if she was able to read in Portuguese haha. We always laugh about this because she does really look American because she has a whiter skin tone.

 

Lately we have been having a lot of sun here in Brasil, so we´ve been getting tanner, and that´s been fun. She is one of the sweetest people I´ve ever met, and she´s overcoming some of her shyness and timidness by talking with EVERYONE on the street and talking more in lessons.


I love newby missionaries because they come out of the MTC with a desire to work and feel the spirit constantly. 

This weekend we had the opportunity to go to Stake Conference in Cotia.

A Sister who was visiting from Utah took our picture and emailed it to our parents. This Sister had a son out serving a mission and new what a treat it was for parents to receive pictures from their missionary.















This past week, we felt the Spirit teaching a less active member named Elisiane. Normally, the other dupla of Sisters in our house teaches her, but one day, we said hi to her in her shop where she works on the street, and she began to talk with us. She´s been trying to return to Church lately, and turn things around in her life. She and her husband had been fighting, and she had wanted to go back to the Northeast of Brasil to live with her parents, and separate from her husband because he hasn´t been treating her nicely. She began to open her heart up to us and told her that it would be hard to return to her dad because her dad had warned her about not marrying her husband because he didn´t trust him. She was young and oblivious to the consequences, and married him anyway. They had a child together, and now, she told us, the only thing that is good in her life, is her little boy. She lost her opportunity to study and work, and have a financially stable life because she was blinded by love that wasn´t really love.

 

As she was talking, the Spirit helped me remember the story of the Prodigal Son. How he had lost EVERYTHING in his life, and then went back to his dad to ask for forgiveness and start over. How his dad received him really well in his house, and rejoiced that his lost son had been found. After reading the Parable to her, she began to cry. She said, "I understand." The Spirit was so strong as Sister Salles and I testified to her that there was a way out of her misery. That if she asked for forgiveness from her Father--her earthly father, and her Heavenly Father, she could be comforted and be happy once again. We testified that Heavenly Father knows who she is, and could help her return home to Him if she let Him.

 

Sometimes in our lives, we are like the Prodigal son. We become beggars of Heavenly Father´s love and mercy and blessings, and we don´t know where to turn to, but to Him. If we will just kneel in prayer unto Him, and speak with him, He will rejoice with us, and will tell us that He loves us. 

This past week, we weren´t able to visit Daiane and her family because unfortunately, Daiane had to stay at the hospital for several days with her son who became ill. We are praying that this Wednesday we will be able to teach their whole family and invite them to be baptized.

Also, this week we found two elect young women named Emili and Natalia. Emily is 12 years old and Natalia is 16. Their brother is unfortunately in prison, so that was a touchy subject for them, but we taught them of the plan of salvation and invited them to be baptized, and they accepted, if they knew that our message is true. We just have to mark them for a specific date because the are going to travel pretty soon, but Emili wants to invite two of her friends to go to church with her this next Sunday. Hope all four come!!! 

The last picture is of a less active member named Ivone who is 84 years old that we teach. She has a heart of gold, and only can´t come to church because of her health, and she ends up fainting. We´re going to have the sacrament sent to her every Sunday.

Love you!!

Sis. Harris