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!

week 9 pictures

 At the church building

week 8 pictures

 avocados are HUGE

 Brownies here we come

Yes, I'm wearing a sweater, my coat, and my rain coat!

Week 8 -- week two in the field

 HEY fam!

OH my heck.  The mission is crazy, and I have so much to freaking learn, and it´s overwhelming, but also sooo soo good. Everyday is different.  Im learning that I (and each of us) have to take each day at a time, and just simply do our best and let God do the rest.  Some days our best is not very good, but others it´s fantastic!!!!  My companion has a heart condition, and cant work some days, so this last week we spent 3 days in our house instead of out working.  It was hard on me because I know I need to be out talking with people to learn the language.  But It´s helped me learn that each day is different and our best is different each day.  ALSO praying is literally the best medicine that exists.  

This week it RAINED so much!!!!!!!!! SO MUCH.  But I guess thankfully we were in the apartment for 3 of those days XD

This week I started to talk a little bit more during lessons, and that felt reaaaaaaaaally good. I seriously cannot wait for when I can full on teach a lesson.  But for now, I can share my testimony, and very very very simply talk about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

One lady we taught said I had an accent that sounded like I was from Bolivia.  I thought that was funny.  Why Bolivia???

I like to clean dishes now... I used to hate it before the mish ( who actually likes to clean dishes??) but now I enjoy it.  Not sure why XD

Around Tuesday I finally figured out how to make the shower hot, so that was a HUGE joy hahaha!

Crawling into bed is literally the best.

I introduced to combination of avocado and eggs to my companion and the other Sisters in our apartment! It was really funny; they were like "what the heck??" They liked it though! 

I love you all so much! And please know that I pray for you every day.  

XO Sister Councill