Week 21 Happy Thanksgiving

Hello! Hola!  Oi!

This week was wonderful and went by SUPER fast!!!!! I´ve got some funny stories to tell and also some really cool more spiritual experiences to tell yall :)

Starting with funny... I think the majority of you know my water bottle, right?  It´s a bit different XD (for those of you who don´t know, it´s like a book)  Well lot´s of people here in Brasil, and in my mission here now refer to me as " the Sister with the crazy waterbottle") It´s super funny because every time we have district meeting, my Zone leader mentions something about the word of wisdom, because it does kind of loook like a whisky flask, but it´s 100% not I PROMISE :D haha anyways I thought that was pretty funny

This week we finally got around to installing our CO2 and smoke detector.  The instructions were in English, so I was the only one who really understood what to do. Well I was in the other room doing something, and I walk into the room where the detector was installed, and the other sisters literally had a piece of paper on fire to "test" the alarm 😱 I freaked out and was like, " NO YOU CANT DO THAT" because obviously that´s not how you test the detector! So they threw the paper on the ground, and I stomped on it. So this week we couldve had a really serious problem, but thankfully no 😂😌

For all of  you who are at college, or at BYU, or for all of you in general! I found a super funny scritpure that describes perfectly what happens at BYU when you have freinds that get married.  Look it up!!!! Luke 14:20 XD SUPER FUNNY.

Okay, now for the spiritual part :)

This week I had two experiences that I´d like to share with you all :)

So every transfer (every 6 weeks) every companionship of sisters has an "exchange" with the Sister Training Leader, who happens to be my companion. So lucky me getso to go on more exchanges than normal :P  This week we had exchanges with the Sisters in Irati- about two hours from Guarapuava. Because it was a little far away I ended up spending 2 nights there this week! Wednesday night until Friday morning! Irati is a suppppper super super super cute town . I didn´t take any pics of the city, but you can take my word for it or google Irati, Parana, Brasil :)  The two sisters in Irati are Sister Cotinho and Sister Soares! Sister Soares is in her training, which means she is in her first 12 weeks on the mission, or in her case, the first 3 weeks! I had been praying and praying that it could be a wonderful, good and learning experience for both of us (because I didnt know her area, and she is a new missionary).  I really wanted to learn from this exchange, because both of my companions have been leaders in the mission, so I havent really ahd the opportunity to really put into practice what ive learned from them, WITHOUT them. I prayed a lottt.  

And God heard my prayers :)  The exchange was wonderful, we were able to visit a bunch of people and found 2 new people to teach :)  Another miracle is that Sister Soares is from the north east part of Brasil where there is a COMPLETELY different accent, and I was able to understand most of what she said! I hope that sometime on my mission I have the opportunity to be a companion with a new missionary. It was a totally different experience, but I really enjoyed it!

My other experience.. I prayed this week that I could have a spiritual experience at church, because the last few sundays I havent really been feeling very spiritually uplifted. However, this week my companion and I ended up in Nursury (the class for babies and young children).  We were with Paulo- the son of our recent converts!!! He was distrupting the sunday school class, so we left with him so that his parents could have a good experience in Sunday school.  So not exactly the spiritual experience I was hoping for in church...

BUT at lunch one of the members ended up sharing with us her life story, wich was incredible and reallly made me realize HOW easy my life has been. Her story was very spiritual and all 5 of us (us 4 sisters and her) were in tears at one point.  I realized afterwards that that was the answer to my prayers. I didn´t have an extremelly spiritual experience in church, but I did afterwards.

I know that Heavenly Father always hears our prayers, and He will always answer them, in His own TIME and WAY. In my first experience my prayer was answered how I expected and wanted, but in my second, it was different.  BUT both experiences were wonderful.

This week I also have been studying and pondering about faith. How faith is a principle of action and power. And how the more we act and pray in faith, the more blessings we receive, and the more influence from God we receive in our lives.  This week I found one of my new favorite scriptures, "if ye will have faith in me, ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." (Moroni 7:33)  

Think about the significance of that scripture. I testify that faith IS a principle of action and power and as we exercise our faith in Christ and God, our lives will be better.

xo Sister Councill

Week 20

November 14, 2016

Hello all you lovely people!!!! 

I hope you all are well and happy and loving life!!!!

Weird thought for you.. this week I´ll have had 1/4 of my mission!! WHAT 😱

So funny story this week!  I am starting to teach my companion English! WOOHOO. It´s super fun and funny. Two words she learned how to say were, "rat," and "window."  And one day we were teaching a lesson and she turned to me and said WHILE I WAS TEACHING, "rat. window."  YALL. Literally almost died in the middle of that lesson.  Because first of all, a RAT! And second of all, how funny is it that my companion was able to say that in English!!! hahah oh we laughed and laughed and laughed a ton after that lesson. 

THIS WEEK I TALKED TO SOMEONE ON THE STREET IN ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!! Ah I was SO excited!!!! yall dont even know. hahaha.  It was super hilarious, because I almost forgot how to speak correctly in English. Writing to yall is one thing, but speaking in real life is totally different XD

Next week will be interesting because I´ll be spending two nights in another nearby area for divisions!  I´ll be the temporary companion of a "newby" so that should be fun and interesting! I´ll also get to travel alone which will be an adventure 😅

So for my spiritual thought this week I want to focus on President Nelson´s talk from this years Oct General Conference, "Joy and Spiritual Survival." 

This week I had the chance to teach the Plan of Salvation  to two different women who were grieving the death of children.  So, I´ve been thinking a lot about the purpose of the Gospel, how we can be happy in the midst of trails.. And it was perfect because a couple of weeks ago my mom sent me Elder Nelson´s talk! (because I didn´t understand a whole ton when I heard it in Portuguese ha )  And this week I finally had the time to read it!  

Folks.  I´m here to tell you that, "Men are that they might have joy."  (2 Ne 2:25)  I testified of that Gospel truth this week to one woman who thought our purpose here on earth was to suffer.  I was sooo sad that she felt that way, and I promise that that is NOT our purpose here on earth.  Our purpose is to live, gain experiences, conquer trials, receive blessings, learn how to be a disciple of Christ and experience JOY.  

God said, "For behold this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  (Moses 1:39)

Immortality is living forever,

Eternal life is living forever with God.

So God literallyh said that His goal/ purpose is for us to live with Him forever.  Imagine how that would be??

Perfect. 

I know God doesn´t want us to be miserable here on Earth.  He doesn´t want us to feel pain or guilt, and He´s provided a way for us to overcome those feelings.  

That way is Jesus Christ.

President Nelson beautifully said, "As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase."

I know this is true.  I know that whatever we are experienceing in life right now, good or bad, it can be better, happier, and more joyful through the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.

 President Nelson siad, "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

What is our focus?  Jesus Christ.

xo  Sister Councill

 

 

Week 19 Pumpkin Pie and Mexican Food

Hello all you lovely people!!!!

Ah man this week flew by SO FAST.  I´ve got lots and lots to share today! Woohoo, so "vamos la!"  (let´s go!)

Funny things..

We live in the "city" part of Guarapuava, and it´s super funny because the people that live accross from our apartment have SHEEP! Yep sheep. What´s even funnier is that some times we can even talk to them, "baaaaaaaaa!"  It´s hilarious.  One day I want to ask the owners if we can pet them, and then maayyybe we can turn it into a missionary experience! hah

So the people here in Guarapuava are CRAZY about Christmas. There are already decorations and such up, and it´s the 7th of November..

So to keep ourselves happy and not tired during the day, my companion has started to do this funny thing when we talk to people on the street.  Sometimes (actually a lot of times) people say that they are super familiar with the Bible and that they read EVERY day etc etc.  Now of course I´m sure some people do, but I know most of the time people just say that because we are missionaries.  So what Sister C. Silva has been doing is talking about the Prophets in the Book of Mormon, and pretending they are in the Bible. It´s super funny.  So for example, " Yeah I really love the Prophet Moroni in the Bible. He was such a great hero..." Ah man she did it once during a lesson, and I nearly died XD 

HEY if any of you love to cook, please send me easy and cheap and yummy and filling recipes!! Because sometimes a member will give us money for lunch, and usually it´s not a ton, so it´s hard to eat out and we don´t have much time to prepare a huge lunch (we have to eat a big lunch because we don´t eat dinner). So I would reaallly appreciate recipes <3 thanksss

OH so one day this week we made MEXICAN FOOD and it was GLORIOUS.  I haven't had Mexican food in so long.. and I really love Mexican food.  ALSO I decided to make a pumpkin pie because it is my favorite. So I had Mexican food and pumpkin pie and it was wonderful 😅  (anyone want to send a recipe for apple pie??)

THIS WEEK I HAD A SUPER COOL EXPERIENCE!  We attended an English class, and I got to talk about my mission, why I chose to serve a mission and what I do as a missionary, IN ENGLISH. It was soooooo greaaaat.  Please pray that we can turn it into a missionary experience the next time we go!

So this week I decided to study obedience.  I felt that it was something I needed to be better at. As I was studying, I found this scripture, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32)"  I was studying about how when we obey God´s commandments we are actually giving ourselves more freedom in our lives.  BUT what I began to think about was the election that is tomorrow ( I think?). I´m honestly super unaware of everything that has been going on with the election, but I don know that many people are stressed about it.  And I just thought to myself, "really as a disciple of Christ, as long as I am obedient/loyal to God, then the truth shall make me free." AND I really really really really have no doubt that God protects and blesses the righteous and obedient.  So with the election coming up, what shall we do?  Prayerfully vote and then strive to be obedient children of GOD and ALL will work out the way it should :)

Also this week my companion and I had a neat experience with prayer. Almost all of the door handles in our apartment fall off super easily, including the handle to our bedroom door.  Well one night this week the door was super loud and creaky ( I have since bought wd40) so during the night I closed the door assuming I could just fix the handle in the morning. Well when we woke up it was a LOT harder to figure out that we had thought, and we were locked in! Normally the other sisters could open it for us, but they were in Curitiba.  So we decided to offer a prayer, and sure enough a few minutes later I figured out how to put the handle back on! This is a silly little experience, but I truly know that God hears and answers our prayers. After this little miracle I thought, "wow today is going to be a SUPER great day because it´s only 6:30 in the morning and we´ve already seen a miracle!!"  Sure enough that day was amazing and we ended up teaching NINE people!!!! Normally we only teach around 5 or 6.  

I want to develop the faith that EVERY prayer I offer will be answered. This is one of my goals in the mission.  I know that as long as what we pray for is in line with God´s will, and doesn´t take away the agency of another person, our prayers are always answered.  So let´s keep on praying!

Com MUITO amor,

xo Sister Councill

 

 

Week 18 Happy Halloween from Brasil

October 31, 2016

Hello! Oi!

Eu amo voces!!! And I have lot´s to tell today!

So this week we had what´s called a "Mission Tour." And it´s when one of the leaders of the Church comes and visits the mission and gives a training. AND IT WAS SUPER GOOD. Elder Costa visited us! He actually spoke in the April General Conference of this year I believe, so look his talk up! But it was wonderful to learn from him, and my mission president and see a bunch of other missionaries as well! And I got letters! Woop! (please write letters, I love getting them 😉)

SUPER FUNNY STORY that happened this week. We were proselyting, and this one lady let us into her house, and it was going pretty well and then she asked, "what day do you all consider as the sabbath?"  OKAY, clearly it´s Sunday. But there´s a church here in Brasil, that thinks it is Saturday because of translation error in the Portuguese Bible... she then started to cry because she was so upset about the fact that we weren´t going to be "saved" because we didn´t keep the Sabbath day holy.  Pretty funny right?  Two missionaries in a house, and instead of us crying about the person, the PERSON was crying about us XD  Sister C. Silva and I laughed a bunch afterwards.  But what did we do?  We testified that God loves all of His children, regardless of when they worship the Sabbath day, and that the Sabbath is actually on SUNDAY.

I know a lot of you are involved with Leaders Club, or the YMCA, OR have experience with teaching young children!! As a missionary, we get to have "family home evening" with some families, and it´s always nice to play a little game or do a fun activity. BUT my brain is so preoccupied with other things, that I´ve seriously forgotten all fun activities. If you have an idea, pleaseeeeeeeeeeee email me :) Muito obrigada!!!!

So the highlight of my week was Saturday!!!! We got to go to the temple!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got up at 2 am and arrived around 6:30 am.  And we stayed until 6 pm!!! By far, one of my favorite days on the mission. The Brasil Curitiba Temple is absolutely gorgeous, and even more inside. I cannot wait to go back in about 3 or 4 months!

In the MTC in Sao Paulo, I was lucky enough to go to the temple every pday. But here in the mission I don´t have that luxury.  I don´t think I realized just HOW much I had missed the temple, until I stepped inside. As soon as I stepped inside I felt the overwhelming peace and love that only is in the temple. I felt so incredibly grateful to be there- in the House of the Lord. I know temples truly are the sacred houses of the Lord. I know Heavenly Father and Christ dwell there. There is no way I can deny that.  I know that only in holy temples can we make sacred covenants, or promises, with our Heavenly Father that allow us to one day return to His presence and live in never ending happiness. ONLY in holy temples can we be sealed together for time and all eternity. 

I know that God loves us immensely. I know this because He allowed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored through Joseph Smith, and because of that we now have the blessed opportunity to live THAT Gospel, and receive the saving ordinances that can only be found in the temple. 

This world we live in now is broken, but we have a link to Heaven, and that link is Temples. 

I love you all muito,

xo Sister Councill

p.s. look up Temples on lds.org if you want to learn more ;)

Week 17 oi meu amigos!!!

October 24, 2016

HI everyone!

I love you all lots!!!! This last week was super good! And I´m super happy here in Guarapuava, Brasil!!! (I don´t have a ton of time left to email, so sorry this will be a little bit shorter than normal)

What happened this last week... MY FIRST BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHK. Literally one of the happiest moments of my life. I definitely started crying when they entered the baptismal font. My heart just bursted with happiness because I know how much their life will be blessed because of their decision.  *happy tears*  They- Elizandro and Paula- are so wonderful.  I know they will be life-long converts.  I can already feel their testimonies!

Funny story: one day this week we made a contact and the woman asked my companion where she was from, and proceeded to say that my companion had a foreign accent, and I didn't! hahahahahaha yeah I wish that were actually true... maybe in 9 months!

So last week I had the goal to be more aware of, and grateful for the daily miracles that I have everyday.  I bought a little journal to write down the miracles everyday.  This week they ranged from being able to talk about mine-craft (in Portuguese don't forget) to a 7 year old for about 30 minutes, to having 2 baptisms.  Miracles range from all sorts of degrees!!! I realized the other day as I was walking up a super steep hill, in the sun, that I had a smile on my face.  And I thought "huh. Why am I smiling right now?? I´m tired, hot, and super hungry."  I was smiling because I wasn´t thinking about those things. I was thinking about the tender mercies, or MIRACLES, that God has blessed me with. 

I really know that God blesses, and wants to bless His children- US- and He blesses us MORE when we are grateful for what He has already given us.  I have felt that this week.  

I know that God loves each of us.  I know that Christ lives. E eu sei que a Igreja de Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Ultimos Dias é o UNICO Igreja verdaderia. 

COM MUITO MUITO MUITO AMOR,

xo Sister Councill

Week 16 Hi From Brazil

Hello hello hello!!!                                                                                        Oct. 17

This week went by so fast!!! (Again) This week I went to Curitiba because my companion had a leadership meeting, and was able to see my first two companions!! Sister Pattee and Sister Angulo!!!!! Ah it was super great. And great to talk in English XD  Super strange that I have already had 3 companions XD  I also got to see my mission president and his wife!  

I almost got bit by a dog again, so that was fun.

Guarapuava is craaazzzyy.  Last week it was pretty cold one day. Another day it rained really hard, and now it´s SO hot.  What ?!!!

Not too much else crazy or exciting happened this week....  BUT...

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BAPTISM THIS SATURDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yall.  I´m seriously so stinkin excited. Elizandro and Paula!!! They are so prepared and I can hardly contain my happiness and excitement!  This last weekend was stake conference, and my mission president was there and we introduced Elizandro and Paula to him, and that was great!  ohhh here´s a funny story for you. So everyone who has served a mission knows that there´s a pretty standard way to teach. "invite. promise blessings. testify..."  Well my companion and I decided to do this with President Cuvelier!  We invited him 100% seriously with straight faces to attend the baptism of Elizandro and Paula.  "President, today we have a really special invitation for you.  We know that Jesus Christ was the perfect example for us. We know that He was baptized.  Today we invite you President, to follow the example of our Savior, and attend the baptisimal service of ....  we promise you that you will feel the joy and happiness of this special moment..!"  OH my gosh it was so funny.  The best part is that he didnt realize we were joking about it.  haha good times. 

This week I had a "okay Adelynn, you need to put more effort into being a better missionary" moment.  Meaning, that I really want to just be better. Not because I have to, and not because I want to be the best missionary in the Curitiba South mission.  Because i just REALLY want to be the best Sister Councill can be!  But okay, why am I telling yall this?  Because it plays a part in an "epiphony moment" I had at Stake Conference this last weekend! (stake conference is when all of the members in a large area meet together for church)  One of the speakers said, "repentence is a change of heart and mind."  For some reason it just clicked for me in that moment. A lot of times we get caught up into thinking that repentance is only this huge long process where you have to go and confess your sins. Sometimes it is this. BUT more often and more likely, it´s different. 

It´s a desire to change.

A desire to be better.

A desire to be more like Christ. 

A desire to be happier, friendlier, more loving!

It´s a change of heart, 

and a change of mind.

I think all of us have a desire to be better at something, right?? When I heard the speaker explain that repentance is a change of heart and mind, I realized that my desires and goals to be better were repentance in a way!  

It´s a wonderful and happy thought to think that repentance is growth, and change for the better.  That it leads to greater happiness!  I know that our Savior and Heavenly Father only want the best for us, and they´ve laid out exactly what we need to do to be happy!  We just need to do our part. 

Our purpose on Earth is to gain experiences, learn how we can return to Heavenly Father, and do it all with JOY.  Let´s live this next week with a smily on our face and joy in our hearts!!!

com muito amor,

xo Sister Councill

ps. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THOSE WHO HAVE BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK !!! ☺🎊😉🎉🎶❤

Week 15 pictures

Week 15

Wow this week has flown by! Anyone else feel that way?!! It´s already the 10th of October! What the heck 😱 

I´ve got some funny things to share, and some spiritual things to share with yall!

Funny first! So this week I taught Sister C. Silva, and the other Sisters in Guarapuava how to prounounce "Sister Councill" in a Southern accent and it was the funniest thing. They sort of got it. Not really actually, but man it was hilarious to hear them practicing. I really hope my Portuguese isn´t like that when I practice XD 

I mentioned in another letter that we run a LOT to catch the bus. Well, this week was the same! We are currently working in an area that is about a 2 hour walk from our apartment, so obviously we take the bus. Well the bus leaves around :30 of every hour. The bus ride back is around 15-20 min.  Every night we are supposed to return to our apartments at 9, or 9:30 at the LATEST. So if we miss the 8:30 bus, we´re pretty much in trouble..... Wednesday night we were having a lesson, and as always we were running a little late. 8:25 rolled around and we still needed to finish the lesson and have a prayer!!! After we finished, we were running from the house to bus stop, but the bus passed right by us and the lady driving motioned for us to go to the next one. SO for literallly 4 or 5 blocks we were completely sprinting in order to get to the next bus stop before the bus left again. I don´t know if any of you have ever had to actually RUN for a purpose- besides sports- but man it is so terrifying! My heart was pounding so fast and my mind was thinkin in 100000000 miles per hour. 😂😂😂  BUT we made the bus, and made it back to our apartment by 9.  Deus nos ama!

OH AND GUESS WHAT???? We have a baptism set for the 22 of this month. PLEASE pray for Elizandro and Paula!!! They are wonderful and I seriously love them so much, and oh man. Happiness.

This week I will go to Curitiba because my companion has a leadership meeting, so if any of you have sent me letters in the past 3 or so weeks I should get them!!! WOOHOOOO🎉🎊

Oh also one more funny thing. Brasil has TONS OF DOGS. Like in the streets, in homes, in yards, just basically everywhere. One day this week I decided to count how many I saw in 2 hours. Wanna guess? 37!!!!! In 2 hours! It´s crazy. 

And now for the best part! My spiritual experience. 😇

So my companion Sister C. Silva is Brasilian. She speaks 0 English. We haven´t struggled to communicate or anything, but it is a huge contrast to my first companion who spoke a ton of English to me! At the same time, I only have 3 more weeks of my 12 week training, and I still dont feel like Ive gotten a good grip on Portuguese. The beginning of this last week I was pretty discouraged with my language learning abilities. For some time, at the back of my head I had been thinking, "man I really want a priesthood blessing, BUT in English, so I can understand it all."  It turns out that my companion had also been struggling with some things, understandably because she is in a new area, with a new companion and has a new leadership calling!  One morning we both jsut broke down and cried together and talked about how we were feeling (life tip: if you want to break the ice with someone, jsut cry with them XD ). She said she wanted a blessing of comfort and I decided I did to, whether it was English or not. So Tuesday night we went to the house of a member in this Branch and each received a blessing of comfort. I understood almost every word he said, and even more I felt the Spirit. I truly know that it was a blessing from God, not President Loustoza. My testimony of the Priesthood (the power of God, given to men to act in His name) has been strengthened. It is incredible to me how whether you are in the United States, Brasil, Taiwan, Jordan... it is the same Priesthood! It is the same because it is of God! It is a witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the fully restored church that Christ established.

I know this to be true. 

President Loustoza before he gave me the blessing said some things that I´d like to share with yall. He said, paraphrasing, "this time right now will soon be another page in the book of your mission.. God called you here to Brasil because He knew you could do it- Remember that God strengthens those He calsl."  Those words were a huge comfort and strenght to me. And I know if any of you are in a point in your lives right now that is really difficult, you can find comfort in those words as well!  Every trial passes, and each trial we go through is for a reason- sometimes only God knows that reason, but He gives us our trials to make us stronget- and HE WILL help. Because He loves us. 

AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I miss you all tons and tons, but I know I´m where I´m supposed to be and doing what I´m supposed to be doing,

xo Sister Councill

Week 14

Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,

This week was a lot less crazy than the previous week! My new companion is Sister C. Silva! She is from São Paulo and has almost been out on the mission for a year! She just got called to be a Sister Training Leader. She is a LOT less talkative than Sister Angulo was, so that´s been a transition for me, but also really good because I´ve been able to speek a lot more during lessons! Also she doesn´t speak any English😀😌 Soooo that´s been jolly fun! But I really love her- we have pretty similar personalities :) She is a wonderful missionary and a good example for me. I can see why she is a leader in the mission. I am grateful I have the chance to finish my training with her. (only 4 more weeks of being a "greeenie", WHAT?!! )

When Sister Angulo headed to Curitiba on Tuesday, she took the phone with her and forgot to pass it to Sister C. Silva, so this week we have been working without a phone. Talk about difficult!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also since Sister C. Silva is new in this area, it´s up to me to "be in charge" of where we go and how we get there. I´ve been in Guarapuava for 8 weeks and still don´t know my way around 😖 It´s been a little difficult this week, not gonna lie, I keep expecting myself to be fluent in Portuguese and know the streets and where our investigators live, but I don´t yet. wahoooooooo. I would be really grateful if you all could pray specifically that I am more kind and loving to myself and my abilities. Obrigada🙃

THIS WEEKEND WAS GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man I was so excited for it. Like Christmas excited. General Conference happens every 6 months. It takes place on a saturday-sunday. There are 4 sessions, 2 hours long, and I wish there were more!!!! The Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and the Apostles speak to us. It´s literally the best. You can read, watch, listen to the talks at lds.org.  DO IT. ☺ Promise your day will be better if you do!!!

SO as you know.. right now I´m kind of living in Brazil, where everyone speaks Portuguese.. as a result, I watched Conference in Portuguese, instead of English.  Man, let me tell you HOW MUCH I sincerely missed hearing the voices of them--- Folks, I am realizing more and more each day how blessed I am, and all of you are, for knowing English, and living in the United States. It´s so easy, comparatively, for us to actually watch Conference at the Conference Center, or visit Nauvoo, Palmyra.. etc. --- but I only understood about 50% of what was being said. But let me tell you- Did I feel the Spirit? YES.  Did I find comfort in just simply seeing the faces of the men who lead us? YES. I absolutely did. And it was wonderful.  

Sunday morning during my personal study I was reading in 3 Nefi 18:25, "..come unto me that ye might feel and see.."  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do NOT expect us to understand 100%. They want us to simply feel and see. Can you imagine how comforting that was for me?  I couldnt understand a good portion of what the Prophet and apostles were saying, but I DID feel their love and their spirit, and I found comfort in looking at them.  It´s really such a wonderful and comforting principle- God knows we won´t be able to understand everything, but He has provided us with a way to see and feel. That is through the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, listening to the words of our Prophet and apostles... Our Heavenly Father is so kind and loving. I testify of that truth.

I love you all lots, and think and pray about you all!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

XO Sister Councill

week 13 pictures

                                                          A family in Adelynn's branch

                                          Adelynn's zone and mission president and his wife. 

                                                             First day wearing PANTS!

                                                                    Stupid Dog Bite

                                                                    Smiling Selfie!

Week 13 The Mission = the craziest adventure ever

HI EVERYONE!!!!

I am so stinking excited to tell you all about my week! I´ve been looking forward to it SO MUCH.  Why have I been so excited?? Because I have some wild stories to tell..

LETS GO.. 

On Tuesday my companion was sick again, and we went to the hospital again (the third time here in Guarapuava).  We were in the hospital allll day, and didn´t get to work at all :( Wednesday we found out we´d be going to Curitiba for her to go to a better hospital!  When we arrived in Curitiba, we learned that she had to be fasting for 8 hours, so the appointment wouldnt be until Thursday.  Thursday was my Zone´s Conference with our Mission President. I was looking forward to it and being able to see my mission President, Buuut we were in Curitiba, and not in our area. But the Lord is so good, and He knew just what to do!

Thursday morning super early, we got a call that said President Cuvelier and Sister Cuvelier would pick me up and drive me the 2 hours to the conference, and then take me back to Curitiba! HOW COOL IS THAT??? I was pretty dang excited. The Conference was wonderful. My President spoke on the two specific topics that I had been wanting to study personally. The drive there and back with them was also wonderful- we talked about my family, life before the mission, BYU, his family.. it was wonderful.  Heavenly Father is so good. I really wanted to go to the Conference, and I also really want to develop a close relationship with my mission president. And I was able to do both!!! :)

Fast forward to Friday.. Sister Angulo and I were leaving the mission office, and going to take the bus system to the place where a bus would take us to Guarapuava ( I don´t know how to say that in English.. is there a word for that??) The bus would leave at 3, and it was around 2:05. We bought our passes, and headed to the correct bus.  

Some background info. I didn´t have a clue as to which bus to take, and then how to switch busses and continue on.. 

Sister Angulo was a few paces in front of me. She got on the bus, and then the doors closed, and the bus drove off.

I WAS THEN ALONE, AT THE BUS STATION, WITH NO IDEA HOW TO GET WHERE I WAS GOING. Oh also, I´m no where close to being fluent in Portuguese. 

Woop!!!

So here´s what happened: I took a deep breathe, LOLd, said a prayer, stood up straight, and talked to as many people as I needed to be able to understand where to go. Was I scared?? YES. I was TERRIFIED. Imagine. You have a companion who is fluent in Portuguese. You aren't.  She knows where to go. You don't. You only have an hour to get to the place you need to be. You don´t know how to get there. All of a sudden you get separated. hahahaha yeah I was terrified. But I kept thinking to myself, "Adelynn, you´re a missionary, God won´t let anything bad happen to you."  I kept saying that over and over and over and over and over in my head. I was completely blind as to what to do, but I acted in faith. I spoke the best Portuguese I knew how, in order to find out where to go- and 40 minutes later, I met my companion and the other Secretaries in my mission at the right bus stop!!!

I´ve been praying and hoping to have a "miracle" or one of those "super cool mission stories."  Now I have one. I know without a doubt, that when we trust in Heavenly Father, with 100% of all that we have, even if we are scared out of our minds, if we trust in Him, and then ACT in faith, everything always turns out good. 

Sister Angulo made it to our bus 1 minute before it left. Did we run? Yes XD I wish I could see what we looked like! But I´m super thankful for that spiritual experience.

ALSO this week I got bit by a dog on both legs, and had to go to the hospital :)    (I´m okay mom 😉) It hurts, but I CAN walk!

ALSO, Sister Angulo will be transfered to Curitiba sometime this week to be near better hospitals. I´ll be receiving a new trainer! WOOP!!! It´s kind of funny, because I´ll be the senior companion here, even though I am being trained....

Anyways, I love you all lots!!! This week, act in faith. I promise you everything will turn out better. God loves each of us so much, and He is SO aware of every single detail in our lives. This I know,

XO Sister Councill

week 12 picture

Week 12

Hey yaaaalll,

Feliz dia para voces! (Happy day for yall!)

Man, this last week was so good, and so fun, and I´m super happy right now :)

Last p-day was my companions birthday, and since she is Mexican, we celebrated by having a picnic and eating burritos. It was pretty legit. BTW Brazilian food is super different than Mexican food, and you cant even buy salsa, sour cream, or tortillas here. We homemade all the stuff for burritos!

On Tuesday I made Alfredo for the other three sisters, and it was a FIRST time for Sister Manhas (she is Brazilian). So that was adventure. I´m beginning to really appreciate America and the diversity of foods that we eat on a day-to-day basis. Here it´s seriously like rice, beans, meat, salad EVERY day. But I love it :)

Funny story: One day while my comp and I were walking home, I was trying to say "french fries," but I accidentally said "fried cockroach."  It was hilarious, and we both couldn't walk because we were laughing so hard.  Moments like this make learning a second language super fun!

All the other sisters in my apartment think it´s super funny to scare me, because when I get scared I freak out and start running really fast in the opposite direction. So almost every day or every other day when we are walking to lunch or another place, one of them will do something. 😅

This past week was so productive! We had lots of lessons, and the best part is that...... WE HAVE THREE BAPTISMAL DATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I´m so excited. Literally. October 8 is the day we have set. If yall need extra things to pray for, pleas pray that Sister Angulo and my investigators will be prepared to be baptized on that date! woop!

This week Sister Angulo literally SPRINTED at least 3 times to catch the bus. But it was worth it, because we made it every time. 😎

On Friday we had lunch with a member who lives way out in the boon-docks of Guarapuava, but lemme tell you, IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. Imagine a long dirt road, with a forest on one side, and horses, rolling hills, lakes on the other side! Oh my heck. I was in heaven, it was so pretty! My companion has some sweet pics of it, and hopefully I can get them from her to show yall!

Sister Angulo and I had a lesson this week with a man and his wife that ended up being absolutely hilarious. During the opening prayer, which I was saying, the man said to his wife. "Elas sao muito bonita eh?" (they are really beautiful huh?)  I had to not laugh... and then at the end we asked him to offer the closing prayer.  He proceeded to stretch out one hand and then chant full on with his eyes open.  (I´m not actually sure if it was chanting or not, because I couldn´t understand) Oh my heck. After the lesson, Sister Angulo and I were dying. It was so funny. 

I spoke in church yesterday! My first talk in Portuguese! My first transfer and I already had a talk XD Wanna know what it was about??

So this last week Sister A and I were trying to find a house of a less-active member. When we found the house, he wasn´t home and the wife wanted nothing to do with us. So we were left on a new road with no planned thing to do.  Sister A turned to me and said, "Why do you think we are here? What does God want us to do??"  This is a Q we have to ask ourselves a lot as missionaries, because at every moment we need to be conscious of what God wants us to do... but I was thinking more and more about it and I realized it´s a Q ALL of us have to ask ourselves.  "What does God want me to do right now?"  THIS is what I chose to speak about.  In addition I shared some really neat quotes from President Monson´s talk in this April´s General Conference. "Choices."  That is the name of the talk, and please please please look it up!!! It is really only one page long, but it is SO GOOD.  

President Monson has a phrase, "the choices we make do determine our destiny," or "decisions do determine destiny."  He also explains that we need to choose the harder right, than the easier wrong.  And if we choose Christ, than we can be 100% sure that we made the right decision. 

I really love the short and simple message of his talk.  To Choose Christ.  

You need to read his talk though, because it is so much better than how I am trying to explain it. YOU can find it here!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/choices?lang=eng 

Also this week in church another person spoke about how Jesus Christ is both the PERFECT leader, AND follower.  I know a lot of you receiving this email are involved with the YMCA or leaders club or BRLS, or if you aren´t you´ve had times in your life where you have had to lead or follow.  I encourage you this week to think about how Christ is both the perfect leader and follower.  He taught His gospel. He established His church. He performed miracles. This is how He led. But through it all He continuoulsy said, "I do the will of my Father."  This is how He was a perfect follower.  How can this apply to you?

EU AMO VOCES MUITO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xo Sister Councill

Week 11

Sept 12, 2016

Hey family and friends!

I´m so happy to be writing you right now! I have one hour a week to write you all, and it´s right now! wooohooo!  Remembering all of the things I want to say is really challenging, but here we go..

On Monday we traveled to Curitiba and spent the night there. It was really funny because 10 sisters were all sleeping in an apartment meant for 2! #missionlife Fun stuff. The next morning Sister Angulo and I headed off to the mission office for the "new missionary" meeting. Ya'll, it was sooo wonderful. I was able to see my district from the MTC and talk lots of English with them! It was like a breathe of fresh air :) That afternoon we headed back to Guarapuava and didn´t get to our apartment until like 11:30! CRAZY. We didn´t go to bed until 12:30... which lemme tell you is super unusual for missionaries. We have a strict schedule we live by, and going to bed at 12:30 is definitely NOT a part of it XD hahaha the other 3 sisters and I decided we would wake up at 8:30 so we could get 8 hours of sleep. I´m pretty sure I won´t ever do that again in my mission XD Unless I´m sick. BUT it makes for a funny story!

Wednesday we didn´t work (go outside and talk to people/teach lessons) until around 6 at night. (ALSO unusual for a missionary)  To be honest, my companion and I haven´t 'worked' a whole ton the last two weeks because she has been pretty sick. (but that´s another story) So the four of us headed out of the apartment to do "Carinha Missionaria." It´s when we go around to different members/ non members houses and sing a hymn we have prepared and share a spiritual thought.  Carinha missionaria went super well and we were able to find new people to teach! But I want to tell you all what happened at the very end of the night.  It was truly a miracle- we were on our way home, around 9:15.  Normally we are supposed to be in the apartment by 9, but we were running late. (a first for Sister Angulo and I). We were humming and singing hymns together in the street, when we all noticed a man in front of us who started to walk slower. Obviously we were worried because we were sisters and it was night time. But then Sister Manhas realized he was someone they had talked to the other day! So we sped up and started a conversation with him.  It turned out that his father had just died that day, and he was really needing consolation and comfort. We were able to sing "Nearer My God to Thee" and share our testimony of God´s Plan of Happiness.  It was truly a miracle. If we hadn´t have been late, that wouldn´t have happened.  Sister Angulo and I have a lesson with him tomorrow, and I´m so excited to see where things will go! 

This week during lunch I shared a scripture I found with a member family- Mark 11:24. It talks about prayer- if you pray, believing you will receive the things you pray for, God promises you will.  I really have been thinking a lot about how MANY prayers I have said that were repetitive and not 100% sincere. Think about how many prayers you have as well. And now, think about how many blessings you and I have missed out on because we weren´t sincere! Crazy huh? Heavenly Father really doesn´t ask much of us. He says, "pray to me with faith and I will answer your prayers."  I truly know He will. I know He loves us soooo so much and wants to hear about our lives and our desires. 

This is my email and my thoughts for this week! I can´t believe I´ve been in the field for over a month! 

XO Sister Councill

ps if you didn´t send me your address please do!!!!

Week 10

Hola familia e amigos!!!

This week was soOooOOOoooo different! My companion is a sister training leader, and one of her responsibilities is to go and visit other sisters in different areas to have "splits" (when you switch companions for a day) ! And since I am her companion, I have the pleasure of accompanying her.  This week I traveled a TON.  Which was really nice because I got to sleep on the bus or study Portuguese or the scriptures.  Estava perfeito (was perfect). 

Remember how last week I said I´d be going to Curitiba for a mission tour?  Because of all the crazy political stuff going on in Brasil right now it got rescheduled for the end of October :( I was pretty sad, buuuut it just means there´s something to look forward to!  Also I´m going to Curitiba today for a new missionary meeting!  WHOOHOO- you know what that means?!  It means I can finally pick up letters!  I´m literally so excited for that. (I can only receive letters when I go to Curitiba, like once every 6 weeks).

Fun fact:  "Rio de Janeiro" literally means "River of January."  Pretty strange and funny yeah?

Sister Angulo and I teach some recent-members who are the same ages as my younger brothers- 10 and 12. Every once in a while they ask me what a word in English is.  This week they asked me to say a prayer in English- YALL it was so STRANGE to pray outloud in English! I almost forgot how a normal prayer goes XD  I guess that´s a good thing though, because it means I´m learning Portuguese!

Yesterday my comp and I read a WONDERFUL talk. Todos de voces precisam ler este discourso AGORA (all of y'all need to read this talk now)!!!! "Accepting the Lord´s Will and Timing," by David A. Bednar.  You can probably find it by google, OR you can search for it on lds.org.  I read this talk about 3 weeks ago and it was perfect for what I needed to hear, and I read it again yesterday and again it was perfect! Sooooo I´m >100% certain each of you will find something in it that will touch your hearts and help you feel better.

A brief summary of it is that Elder Bednar shares the experiences of a young married couple and cancer. Elder Bednar poses the Q, "Do you have the faith not to be healed?" Y'all when I read that my heart stopped for a second. It is something I had never thought about before. Normally when I pray, I pray asking Heavenly Father to help me with xxx.  But sometimes (actually always) I should be saying, "Heavenly Father help me understand and have faith to accept whatever outcome Thou hast planned for me."  Elder Bednar goes on to explain that one of the hardest things to do is allign our own will with the will of Heavenly Father.  This is so true.  He explains that strong faith is " submisselvely accepting His will and timing in our lives-even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted." It is so hard to try and have faith like that.  One thing I've found that has helped me is to remember that even if I don't understand everything, I know God has the ´Big Picture.´ If I am going to put my confidence and trust in anyone, who is more perfect than Him and Christ??????????????? 

I promise that as we try our best to press forward everyday with faith in the Lord´s will and timing for our lives, He will help us become better, happier, and have more peace than if we rely on our own efforts.  The whole purpose of our life right now is to learn how to grow closer to Christ so we can return to live with God in never-ending happiness.  

I know He has a perfect plan for each of us.  I know He loves each of us more than we can understand. I wasnt to do all I can right now to make sure I´m worthy to live with Him- and to help the people in Brasil as well :) 

Love y'all lots and lots and lots and lots, 

xo Sister Councill 

week 9--Week three in the field--two months on a mission to the day

Hey faam and omigoss,

This week has been better than the last two! I think I´m getting more used to this whole ´´mission` thing ;)

So I´m in GUARAPUAVA! It´s in the state Parana, in Brasil.  Aaaand I love it.  It´ll be my home for at least the next 9 weeks!  Guarapuava is super hilly! I´m out of breathe all of the time, but hey that´s good, right?  It means I won´t get fat XD theoretically.  It´s really quite interesting here, because on one side of the road there can be a really nice house, even for the US, and then on the other side there can be a really old, broken down shed for a house.  It´s sad how badly the money is distributed.  I want to send pictures of it, but we can only take pics on p-day, and we don´t have time to walk around and take photos of all the streets unfortunately :/ Every once in a while a guy on a horse will come by, which is always funny to see!  There´s cats and dogs EVERYWHERE.  One lady we are teaching has probably 30 animals altogether.. O_o  the stars are super pretty at night; I haven't been able to figure out if they are in different spots than in the US.. someone wanna look that up for me, since I cant use google? XD

Funny story time.. yesterday Sister Angulo and I went to a womans house to walk with her to church. When we arrived, we called to make sure she was home.  She said she wasn´t at home, but was at the hospital with a friend.. *dissapointment*.. after we hung up, we heard a noise at the door, so we clapped (in Brasil, rarely anyone has a doorbell, so you clap to be let inside).. then the woman opened the door.  Y'all.  It was so hilariously awkward.. #missao

Funny story number two.. Last night probably around 7:45 we had just tried to meet with someone, but they weren´t home (#missao) so we were walking around, clapping, and trying to find someone to let us in so we could share a message about Christ. (It´s not really great to be wandering the streets at night, ya know) I being me, and friggin loving food, was joking with Sister Angulo that I hope someone will give us food.  (in Brasil, we only really eat lunch, we don´t normally take time to eat dinner.. which is totally opposite of MURICA, so it´s just jollly and lots of hunger XD) And Sister Angulo really had to pee. So we both needed something!  We were walking along, and then all of a sudden there was a man behind a fence, which we were´t expecting it, and were totally surprised by!  The man apologized and asked if we wanted water, to which Sis A replied she needed a bathroom XD  I was thinking 'oh great, now I'm going to have to try and converse with someone in Portuguese, JUST by myself' hahaha (I know a terrible thought for a missionary).  When we got inside, the man´s wife was super friendly, and sis A went to the bathroom, and I was somehow able to talk to her and have a decent-gist of what she was saying.  THEN the best part.  She invited me to the kitchen and gave me cake XD yall.  Literally my favorite human at that moment, was her.  We ate, Sister Angulo used the bathroom, I spoke in Portuguese, and we shared a message!  This is a silly story, but from it I know even if we don't always directly pray, God knows what we want and need :)

I´d like to share with y'all some of the things I´ve realized this week!  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm a perfectionist and expect the very best of myself ALWAYS.  This is good, but also bad XD As a missionary, it's good because I work hard, but also equally discouraging.  Anyone else relate?? This isn´t "Adelynn share her feelings time" it´s ''Sister Councill wants to share some lessons she has learned, so that maybe you guys can not have to learn it the hard way'' :)

I´m SLOWLY realizing that I need to be patient with  myself. slowwwwlyyy. Esp with learning a new frigging language haha. I realized that Im not only a new missionary, learning a new language, but that I'm ALSO in a new area with a companion who ALSO doesn't know this area or the members here.  Usually always one companion knows the area.  SO DUH, of course this mission thing is going to be hard.  Realizing that was like 'duh you silly girl!"  Whatever things you all are struggling to have patience with, take a step back and observe it from an outside perspective.  Most likely you'll realize you're doing a pretty swell job :)

Ive also been pondering a ton about my Savior Jesus Christ -duh I'm a missionary haha.  Sister Angulo and I broke down one day this last week during companionship studies, and just cried and talked about how much we are realizing we NEED to rely and focus on the Savior and His Atonement. I know that if I, and YOU, focus on Christ- meaning that our thoughts, actions, desires are aligned with His- then no matter how hard life is, OR how badly we want something, nothing really can permanently be wrong- NOT if we keep Christ in our view.  If you don't have a picture of Christ somewhere, I invite you to get one and look at it every day.  His light and love will influence you each day.

There´s a quote from my favorite apostle- Jeffrey R. Holland.  He said, "If we live the Gospel to the best of our ability, then today, tomorrow, and every other day will be magnificent." ISNT THAT WONDERFUL. An apostle of the Lord said that folks.

Y'all, I know Jesus Christ loves me.  I know He loves you. I know He loves us each So much, He suffered for each and every one of us.  I know HE LIVES.  I know that the Gospel He taught was fully restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of this.  If you aren´t familiar with these things, I dare you, just dare you to look them up on mormon.org and learn more.  I PROMISE you will find more happiness in your life than you ever have before.  Yes I know, that´s a pretty big promise, but guess what? It´s true!  My mission is hard as heck, but ya know whaaaaaaaat? I know these things are true, and that is why I am here in BRASIL- so that people here can find greater happiness in their lives.

MUCH LOVE to all of yall,

xo Sister Councill de Estados Unidos

ps. can someone ask Sister Moore for her syrup recipe?? Obrigada!