The Work Continues

         Marcos, the 14 year old whose Mom we baptized, hasn't been making much progress. It has actually been really difficult to meet up with him. He is always switching between the parent's houses and between that and school, we are having trouble meeting up with him. We were able to schedule a lesson for this week though- so hopefully we can get him back on track! His younger sister and his mom's boyfriend both accepted baptismal dates though! Woohoo! So we are super duper excited for them. i love their family! I think we will Skype from their house for mother's day, so maybe you can meet them quickly- though you all won't be able to communicate too much ;) And my translating just ends up half English half português! 

          This week was wonderful! I am absolutely loving working with Sister Prado. I feel a bit jipped though. This transfer is only 5 weeks long and as I have already been in Alfenas for nearly 6 months, it is pretty certain that I will be transferred. I would love to have more time with her! We made a goal to do secret acts of service this week. It was super fun. We cut out paper hearts and wrote notes for some of our investigators and recent converts and then heart attacked their houses. I think I sent some pictures of that for you. It was great to always be looking for nice things we could do without people noticing. We did get caught a couple times though- but that was alright because the bystanders just ended up becoming contacts and now we are teaching them! Oh, one day this weeks one of the irmãs (Sisters) in the ward agreed to go out with us to teach people. She got back to us only the morning of and so we had planned our day thinking she wasn't going to be able to. In other words, we were working in an area with a whole lot of hills that is on the outskirts of Alfenas. Thus this little 63 year old irmã ended up going on quite the trek with us. Haha, she was quite the trooper though. We definitely went at a much slower pace than normal, but this little old lady managed to scale all of the hills, would not agree to rest or take a break and still managed to testify and contribute marvelously in our lessons. She is awesome. I am sure that she also got a really good nights sleep afterwards ;)

         Yesterday I gave my first talk in português! Everyone seemed to understand what I was saying and the branch president didn't kick me out afterwards- so I think it was a success. I told a story about my first attempt making suco de maracuja (passion fruit juice) here. I explained that we don't have maracuja in the USA and that I had never made juice before. But I figured it couldn't be too complicated and I love suco de maracuja so I decided to give it a go. The only problem was that I didn't know you needed to use sugar and a whole lot of water to make suco... I just used the pulp and a little bit of water. And so my juice was sour and a complete disaster. Luckily, my companion had a lot more experience and wisdom than I did. When I realized that i couldn't make the suco correctly alone, and decided to ask for and follow her directions, I was able to successfully make a sweet, delicious suco de maracuja. I then related this experience to how we need the help and directions of the Savior in our lives. Alone, doing things "our way" we won't end up with the delicious juice that we want. it is only through obeying the commandments and submitting ourselves to the Lord's will that we will find happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. I think my talk was nearly as big of a hit here as Ben's famous waffle talk. I have the feeling that the members are going to be making a lot of suco de maracuja for me in the weeks to come... Good thing I love it! 

I love you all like crazy! 

Sister Emma Maxwell

Magical Powers or Heavenly Blessings

       After five months, I finally have a second companion! Her name is Sister Prado and she is from Curitiba. She has been out for 7 months- only one transfer more than me. She has one brother by blood and five more basically adapted siblings (think Noah, but onto the next level). She is 21 and she doesn't like chocolate. (not a problem, more for me) We have only been together for a few days, but I already love her! She has a sense of humor really similar to mine so we are always joking around. It is wonderful! Everyday is an adventure and we are able to laugh in even the most difficult of moments. Oh, she also has magical powers. I am not kidding about that. She seriously has magical powers or is extremely loved by the Lord. Our first day here in Alfenas she said that she was hungry. Not five minutes later a man that I contacted once on the street stopped us to Bible bash. Great. He started in on us full blow, going on and on. Then out of nowhere he paused, bulled out a bag and offered us pão de queijo (cheese Bread). It was even fresh and warm! We accepted, of course, and he continued on with his rant. When we finished eating the pão de queijo, we thanked him for his opinion and went our way. The next day, as we were walking down the street Sister Prado said she was craving something sweet. A few minutes later we arrived at the house of one of our contacts. The lady living there was not interested in our message at all ( I don't know why people give us their addresses when they really aren't interested). It was very hot though and we were very thirsty, so we asked for some water. Not only did she let us in to refill our water bottles, but she also filled a sack with some candy she had just made and gave it to us before she sent us on our way. The next day on our way to Almoço Sister Prado told me about how much she loved ice cream. As we finished up almoço, what do you know, the irmã brought out a bunch of ice cream for dessert! Like I said, magical powers. I am thinking that we need to put this talent of hers to work and get some pizza or something. Or even better, she needs to start talking about how much she wants baptisms! Needless to say, we are getting along great. The Lord is blessing us immensely and we are loving the work.

        The other new Sister in our house is an American fresh from the CTM (Missionary Training Center). I did not realize how far my português has progressed until she arrived here. Though I think my português was a bit better than hers when I first entered the field. She is not understanding much of anything right now. I do remember those first few weeks in the field- feeling so inadequate and useless. I still feel pretty inadequate for this great work, but I am so grateful that I can speak and understand the language now. I have a ton to learn, but I feel like I am making a difference now. Haha, her arrival also made me realize how bad my English is getting. Once I get talking or writing it's alright, but switching between the two is really difficult. Her trainer, Sister Sandrine doesn't speak any English. So occasionally she will ask me to translate or explain something in English for Sister Graham. I will start to talk to her to explain something only to realize that I am still speaking português! Then as I try to switch over to English words in português slip into my sentences and sometimes I can't think of the right word in English at all. Haha, how cool is that?! Sister Prado teases me and says that i am going to need my português- English dictionary to talk with you all on Mother's day. I think once we get started with the English I will remember again and we'll be able to communicate just fine ;) 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week and keep being missionaries :)

Sister Emma Maxwell

General Conference and Miracles

         I will answer your questions first so I don't forget or run out of time! First off, transfers! I am actually not being transferred. I get to stay here in Alfenas for another transfer! Woohoo! I love it here, so I am glad that I don't have to pack up and head out. I feel like I still have more to do here too. We have been making really good progress with Laudo's family and Luciana's family. I don't want to leave until I can see them all baptized! Sister Malta, however is being transferred. So I will have a new companion. Her name is Sister Prado. I haven't met her yet and don't know anything more than that really. I will head out to Varginha tonight to meet her. Sister O'Reilly is also being transferred. It has been really fun to be with her so long. A day hasn't gone by that I haven't seen her since I arrived in the airport in Georgia! But I knew that wouldn't last. So I am sad to see her and Sister Malta go, but I am excited for a new companion and adventure! 

          The pizza we bought even before we knew who would be transferred and what not. We find out about that Monday morning. Basically she was craving a sweet pizza and I had never tried one, so we splurged and bought it to celebrate our last week together. It was super duper good! One part was banana and cinnamon and the rest was chocolate and coconut. Holy moly, heaven in a slice of pizza! The symbols on the box represent baptism (the water) and confirmation (the circle or head) 

         So now onto my week- and what a week it was! We had a zone conference with President Cascardi on Tuesday, splits with the Sister Training leaders on Wednesday and General Conference Saturday and Sunday. Yet even with all of this, we managed to have one of the best weeks out of all of our time together here in Alfenas. I think we had more lessons this week than ever before- which is crazy because we had less time to actually be out working and teaching. We were basically running from one lesson to another in order to keep up with everything! It was amazing. We had set a goal for this week to meet all of the mission standards of excellence. The mission standards are so high that it is nearly impossible to meet all of them in one week alone. It is very, very rare. We really wanted to though. So we worked and prayed like crazy! As we did all that we possibly could, we were able to see the Lord take over and work miracles. When our lessons fell through, the neighbors let us in to teach. When members canceled on us for lessons, we happened to run into another member on the street who was willing to teach with us. Everything just came together perfectly. We were able to meet all of the standards of excellence!! It was amazing.

          General Conference was also amazing. Friday night felt like Christmas Eve! We were all so excited to hear from the prophet and apostles the next morning. I did get to see all of the sessions of conference. We watched the women's session Saturday morning. I do have to admit that I missed all of our traditions from home. This conference there was no tent, there were no nachos, there was no puzzle, we didn't have a candy bar, or eggs Benedict and I couldn't wear my pjs... yet the spirit was as strong as ever. The inspired words of those men and women, called of God, is what really makes conference amazing. I was thinking that conference would be a relaxing, spiritual renewal. Haha, it was exhausting though! I have never had so many things to think about during conference. This time I wasn't just thinking about how the counsel applied to me, but also for each of my pesquisadores, their families, my branch, my companionship, and all of you back home too! Then to top it off they were all speaking in Português very quickly with an elevated vocabulary! For some reason they wouldn't stop and let me ask questions either ;) It was mentally exhausting. But although it wasn't exactly "relaxing" as I thought it would be, it was definitely spiritually renewing. It was fun to know that you were all doing the exact same thing that i was at the exact same time. It made me feel closer to home and all of you. I hope that you all loved conference as much as I did! Oh and Mom, I too was teaching lessons in between the conference sessions! We may be on different continents, but we are in this work together!

          To top off a marvelous week of hard work and inspired counsel, the Lord blessed us with a "Conference Miracle". During the last session of conference on Sunday, a young man came into the chapel to watch. At the end of the session we went over to meet him. It turns out that he had visited the church about a year back. A member he knows mentioned conference and so he decided to come. He proceeded to explain that he felt so happy and at peace there in the church. He loved everything he had heard during conference. I asked him about his religion and he said he was Catholic but that he decided during conference he wants to be baptized here. Wait... what?! I was definitely caught by surprise with that comment. My mouth probably dropped open. As I stood there in stunned silence he then proceeded to explain that he felt he had a purpose in life that he needed to fulfill. When he met us, the missionaries, he felt like he had finally figured out what that purpose was. He needed to serve a mission. So in two minutes we met went from complete strangers to ready to be baptized and serve a mission. Now that is what i call effective missionary work ;) Haha, though it was absolutely nothing we did! I think Heavenly Father wanted to show me that if I truly give this work all that I have, He will take that meager offering and work miracles. 

Oh how grateful I am to be a missionary and share the message of this wonderful gospel with the people of Brasil! I know that we truly have a living prophet and twelve apostles- just as Jesus Christ established when he was here on the Earth. And most importantly, I know that Heavenly Father knows me, loves me, and is cheering me on. 

I love you all! Have a marvelous week!

Sister Emma Maxwell

Running Home and Working like Crazy!

I have a lot to write this week and no more time than usual... Haha, imagine that. So I will get right into it!

Monday night Sister Malta and I held a family home evening with Luciana and her family. She lives in the farthest bairro (neighborhood) in Alfenas from our house. It takes about an hour to walk there. She always offers us a ride home after our visits. Only Monday night she wasn't feeling too great. We didn't want her to have to drive us home because she was feeling sick, so we declined the offer (you know when someone is just offering to be nice but really isn't feeling up to it). So we said our goodbyes and started down the street. The only problem was that it was nearly 9:00 and we have to be in our house by 9:30... Thus we walked until her house was out of sight, slipped off our shoes and then started to run. Haha, I am sure we were quite the sight to see. Two young women running down the cobble stone streets of Brazil in the dark, wearing skirts, shoes in hand and hair flowing in the wind. To make things better, the Sister Training Leaders had arrived that evening to go on splits with the other sisters in Alfenas the next day- of all nights for our plans to go awry! Haha, it was quite the adventure. I have to admit that running and laughing at the same time makes it a bit hard to breath ;) But we couldn't help but laugh at the craziness of it all. I am proud to say that we made it to our house with three minutes to spare. Sign me up for track when I get home. 

The week Sister Malta and I worked like crazy! We really wanted to meet all of the mission standards of Excellence (basically impossible because they are so high). So our week was jam packed. Our hard work payed off with two baptisms though! These baptisms really were miracles. First off- Luciana. I believe I already wrote about Luciana and her son Marcos. He is the young man that I contacted on the street and then he walked the hour to church by himself the next day- that never happens! So through him we were able to meet his mom and start teaching her. She is amazing. I love her so much! I swear that I knew her in the pre-existence. That is the only possible explanation here. She has been coming to church, but wasn't feeling ready to be baptized. We knew she was ready though, so we called in the Elders to give a baptismal interview and fasted and prayed like crazy. The night before we told her about the interview and that we would be holding a baptismal service that next night (her original baptismal date). She agreed to the interview without hesitation! The Elder said the the interview was amazing- she was basically just bearing her testimony for him! She was baptized Saturday night :) Ângela was our other baptism for the weekend. She was a miracle too. i met her late one evening when we were walking back to our house. She was sitting on the ground outside her house and looked pretty sad. I felt like I should talk with her, but I was tired and so I passed her by. The feeling came again and this time I listened to the spirit over my aching feet. I stopped Sister Malta and went back to talk to her. I shared a scripture with her, cheered her up a bit, got permission to come back and teach her another day and then continued on our way. When we sat down to plan though, i realized I had forgotten to write down her address. Great. All I knew was her name. Two weeks ago as we were walking to an appointment, I recognized her house! She happened to be home and so we were able to start teaching her. Two weeks later she was baptized! It is so amazing to be a part of this work! We see miracles every day. I have so much to learn and improve still. I am nowhere near the missionary that I want to be. Yet when I try my very best, and give the Lord my all, He makes up the difference. I saw that all too clearly this week- We worked like crazy and we were blessed with miracles. God really does love us. It is amazing to be a missionary and see Him work through us (as weak and imperfect as we are) to bless the lives of His children here in Brasil. 

Easter really wasn't much different than any other day for us missionaries. Our branch only even sang one Easter hymn! For Easter here everyone gets an Ovo de Páscoa (a giant chocolate Easter egg). they don't get an Easter basket or have an egg hunt, just the giant chocolate egg. The eggs are pretty expensive though, so we didn't buy one. I did have one Reese's pumpkin left from my Christmas package that I ate and pretended was an egg shape (haha... a Reese's pumpkin that I got for Christmas and ate for Easter... It was perfect!). I did buy nail polish and made cards for the other sisters in our house here though. I even managed to buy the polish and wrap everything in secret- quite the feat as a missionary! They all were super excited and it was fun to see them all receive an unexpected gift Easter morning. I think the best part of the day was the chance that it gave us to testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The holiday was the perfect conversation starter to share my testimony of the Atonement, Resurrection and Restoration. Three events that show God's boundless love for us. Goodness, how lucky are we to know about this gospel and to have the hope that this message about Christ brings? 

I love you all so much! I hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Love,

Sister Emma Maxwell

Almost Easter!!!

          I cannot believe that Easter is just a few days away! How in the world did that happen? It seems like Christmas was just yesterday. Today marks exactly 5 months as a missionary. Woo hoo! I still feel like I have so much to learn and improve. Good thing I ave more time here in Brasil. I miss you all like crazy, but I love being a missionary. The Lord definitely helps me focus on the work and not be homesick. 

           This week I am writing from Unifal- one of the universities here in Alfenas. We figured out this week that because it is a federal university it is open to the public- so we can use the computer lab for free! So today I get to use a nice computer in an air conditioned lab (it's actually a bit cold in here), with a functioning letter "g" and I don't have to pay anything! It is good all around. I do have to admit that it is kind of weird to walk around on a college campus right now. It makes me miss BYU. Haha, I want to go to class... The boys will probably make fun of me for that, but it's true. 

          I love that talk! I love how it is not just "it will all work out" but it is that "it will all work out in the end". So if things aren't working out, you know that it's not the end yet! I actually was thinking of that talk this week with some of the challenges that we had. Thaylor (also 14 yrs old) was set to be baptized this Saturday. He is a really fun kid. I have loved teaching him. He is a bit of a goofball, but really sweet and sincere. So we had everything set for the baptism and then he called only 3 hours before and said he didn't feel ready. He hung up on us after just a couple of minutes without really explaining. He doesn't have a phone and was using the cell phone of a friend so we couldn't get a hold of him that way. So we rushed over to his house only to find that he had left for the roça (countryside) for the weekend with his uncle. Needless to say, the baptism did not take place. That was really hard. We were both crushed. But, "everything will work out in the end". We were able to talk with him Sunday night and I think he was just nervous. He wants to keep learning and still has a desire to be baptized, so I have hope. I hope he will feel peace and have the courage to take this step. So next week hopefully you will be receiving some more baptism pictures. 

          One of our other investigators, Luciana (I think I have written about her before) has a baptismal date for this weekend too. She is absolutely amazing! I love her so much. She has such great faith. Every time we teach her a new principle or mandamento (commandment) she immediately puts it into practice. She has been coming to church steadily and is definitely prepared for baptism. The only problem is that she doesn't think that she is quite ready yet. I am praying so hard that we will be able to help her recognize the importance of baptism and that she really is ready. Her daughter, Ana Julia, has 8 years, but has the sass of a grown black woman. It is absolutely hilarious! She is so dang cute (probably drives her mom crazy, but in the small doses that we get it is perfect). Sunday night we stopped by to teach Luciana and the family. During the lesson Ana Julia slipped away into the kitchen. Then when we finished up she proudly walked into the room with two plates of little sandwiches that she had made herself. They were a bit messy and lopsided, but they were absolutely perfect. She set the plates on the table and declared that since her mom hadn't prepared anything for us to eat, she did it all herself! Haha, it was so cute. We are meeting them this afternoon for ice cream (Ana Julia has been talking nonstop about this the entire time we have been teaching them). You know you really love your investigators when you give up your time on p-day to visit with them and teach (ice cream is just an added bonus) 

          I love you all! I hope that you all have a wonderful Easter and take time to remember the real reason we have to celebrate- our Savior Jesus Christ! I am so very grateful for Him. Because of the Atonement, we have cause to celebrate and be happy every single day! 

Happy Easter!

Sister Emma Maxwell

So much JOY!

My dearest mother,

I am kind of excited to hear that my letters are slipping into português! That is pretty awesome. I am always in such a hurry to write that I know there must be tons of spelling errors, typos and now português mishaps! It still bugs the perfectionist in me, but writing everything I want to is more important than sending a perfect letter! Hopefully I'll pick up English quickly when I get back home so I don't flunk out of BYU ;) 

...And onto my adventures of the week!

This week one of the recent converts in my area had a birthday (she was before we came to the area though). She is an older lady and none of her family are members. I think she gets a bit lonely. We try to visit her every week to give her some company and keep her strong in the gospel. I wanted to do something for her birthday, but my budget is very limited and yes, my craft supplies are very limited. So I had to get really creative! I took one of the old jars that we use as a cup (our kitchen supplies are limited too... haha) and decided to make it into a little vase. So using borders and edges from the Liahona (you never realize the value of good pictures and patterned paper in the Liahona until you serve a mission...) I was able to decorate the jar and make a matching card. We then picked some wild flowers to fill the jar and delivered it to her. She was so excited to see us and to get the simple present. I think that was the only gift she received on her birthday. I am so grateful I have a crafty, creative Mom who taught me to serve and think of others! 

This week we also met with Marcos' father. I was super nervous for that lesson. Marcos had told us that his dad didn't support him getting baptized and that he worked for the police too. Because of his job, his schedule is really wacky and erratic. It is hard to catch him at home. One night when we were passing by, he happened to be there though. To ease my nerves (NOT) he had just returned from work. Nothing like a big burly Brazilian in a police uniform with a gun at his waist late in the evening to put you at ease! Haha, it ended up being a really good lesson though. It turns out that he is actually a very inactive member. He was one of the very first people here in Alfenas to join the church (about 20 years back). Thus he knew all about the church, Joseph Smith and the work that we missionaries do. Turns out he actually fully supports Marcos learning more about the church and getting baptized. When Marcos had talked with him earlier he had thought he was talking about a different church. So now we can not only help Marcos progress, but also have the challenge of reactivating his dad! Goodness there are so many little details lining up with this family- we also learned that the boyfriend of Marcos' mom (his parents are divorced) had requested a Book of Mormon online several months back. He moved soon after he requested it though, and so he never actually received it. We were all too happy to help him out and hand over a long awaited copy of the Book of Mormon. So now we are teaching him too! I really love this family. Seriously. They have the same sense of humor that we do! That is a rare thing. So for the first time in a long time, I can joke around like we do at home. It is nice to speak the language well enough to crack jokes too ;) I am so excited to see this family progress. They have a lot of challenges and I don't think it is going to be easy to get to baptism, but I know it is possible. Especially with the Lord on my side!

The other big news of this week is that Laudo went to the temple!!! Our ward had another caravan this weekend and so he was able to go down to Campinas and do Baptisms! He absolutely loved it- of course. I wanted so badly to go with him! Dang mission boundaries. But seeing and hearing him just talk about it was amazing. I love the temple so much. It is even better to help someone get there than to be able to go yourself. 

I love you all so much! I love being a missionary and serving the Lord! I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with much laughter, many miracles and the joy of the gospel!

Sister Emma Maxwell

Awesome Week of Lessons

          Today we mixed things up and went to the market before the LAN house to write. I don't think I will ever do that again... I was so distracted and anxious the whole time. Writing and hearing from you guys is definitely the highlight and priority. Forget groceries- e-mails from my mom are waiting! 

          The puppies were absolutely adorable! I wanted to take one home so badly. The mom died and so the family was giving them away for free. I haven't ever been so tempted to break a mission rule.  I stayed strong, obedient and petless though. The plenitude of dog poop on the sidewalks afterwards were a nice reassurance that I had made the right decision too. 

          Marcos, the 14 year old who walked to church, is doing well. He has a really complicated family situation with divorced parents and such. We were able to meet with his mom though and she is amazing! (She also makes a killer cake with goiabada- I am going to get the recipe and send it to you). She came to church this Sunday! But Marcos didn't... he stayed with his Dad. His Mom really liked church though. the Relief Society lesson was perfect for her- it moved her to tears! Haha, sometimes as a missionary it is good to make people cry. We are going to meet with her several times this week. I am hoping that in the next couple of weeks she and Marcos can be baptized together! 

          We also have had some progress with Laudo's wife. During the entire time we were teaching him before baptism she was very antagonistic and standoffish with us. This week I had the idea to take a copy of The Family- A Proclamation to the World to her. So Sister Malta and I prepped a killer lesson on this and made the trek to the outskirts of Alfenas where they live (I swear everyone with potential either lives really far or at the top of a crazy morro(hill)!) When we arrived Laudo happened to be home too- his work was cancelled due to rain. So he let us in right away (we were a bit worried she wouldn't let us in- so that was a miracle!) As we sat at the kitchen table just chatting with them we somehow found out that Luciana's father passed away just two years ago. It was obviously still a very tender topic for her. So in spite of our other plans, we moved into a lesson on the Plan of Salvation. We taught in perfect unison and the lesson flowed flawlessly. I don't think we would have taught that well, hitting exactly the points she needed- if we had planned and practiced to teach that lesson. I love it when the Lord takes over in lessons and all of our weaknesses melt away. It is the coolest thing ever. She had o travel this Sunday, but Laudo said she is anxious to come to church next week and wants us to come back!

          I had another really cool lesson this week. It was more of a learning experience for me. We were teaching the Restoration to a college student named Isabela. We teach this lesson so often that it is easy to fall into a pattern and say the exact same things every time. After I finished the first part of the lesson and Sister Malta was teaching, I realized what was happened. We were just being missionary robots. I decided then and there to change. I started praying to know what she needed specifically and started to really pay attention. When my part came, the words started to flow. Rather than moving on to the first vision as usual, I took the time to fully bear my testimony of the atonement. The change in the atmosphere was all too clear. the spirit filled the room and I could see a physical change in her. She was suddenly intently paying attention, cherishing every word. The  change in me was all too clear too. I stopped stumbling to find the right words in português ad just spoke. When the spirit takes over like that I could be speaking English it is so easy to say what I want! Haha, if only it was like that all of the time! Needless to say, it was an amazing experience. Lessons like these make all of the hard work worth it. We leave those lessons ready to climb the tallest hills and face the dark rainy evenings. 

          So on to some of your questions. We do still keep working in the rain and thunder. If we are lucky we can pass most of it in the houses of investigators teaching, but even if not, we keep on woking. My shoes are holding up pretty well. I doubt they'll make it through the whole mission, but they are good for now. They don't dry out totally in one day if it has been really rainy. I have a pair of plasticy flats that I bought here for 10 reals though. So I switch off wih my shoes. The flats make my feet hurt a bit, so I can't wear then everyday. 

          The picture of the ice cream cone I sent was half ice  cream half açai. So so good! We can only get those in Varginha though... another reason to love zone conferences! The cone is in fact coated with Nutella. Yes. It is basically heaven. Sister Malta also introduced me to brasilian churros this week. They fill their churros here! Sweetened condensed milk, nutella... it is super duper good.

Love you all!

Sister Emma Maxwell