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