Wow gente (people), so it
happened. They pulled me out of my
beloved Mossoro and from my beloved Mexican daughter and put me back in the
capital – Natal. But this time in
Alecrim (Rosemary in Portugues), which is the same area as the mission office
where 4 elders are also working. That
means at least 2x’s this past week, we ate with 8 missionaries (4 sisters and 4
elders). We also live 5 blocks from the
largest and busiest shopping centro da cidade (center downtown) – the sidewalks are
crammed with small stands that reach over your head and sell anything from I-phone
cases, yummy coscuz tempurato (couscous) to
hammocks. Another crazy fact is that I’m
back with Sister Silva, who helped finish my training when I only had 3 months
in the mission. And now it’s her last
transfer and it’s the first time that I’ve been with someone who has more time
than me in the mission in about 8 months.
She is a Sister Training Leader which pretty much means she cares for
all of the other sisters, calling to check in on how they’re doing and visiting
their areas to help in whatever difficulty they may be having as well as
finding weak points and making them strengths.
So you could say that about 110% of the time I just sit in complete awe
like, oh my gosh how is she so amazing? #PumpedForThisTransfer #AlreadySeeingTheMiracles #SoMuchToLearn
I want to quickly talk about someone we’ve been teaching
this week:
Diego is a man we’ve been visiting diariamente (daily) who struggles with a dependence on alcohol and
cigarettes – who used to be at about 20-30 a day but has narrowed it down to
4-5. It’s been a trial of my faith and
patience because I’ve never taught anyone like him before. I’ve never been burdened with a consuming addiction,
so sometimes it’s hard to understand and not be like “Man, he caved and drank
again”. Or to not get discouraged when
we arrive and he quickly throws away the cigarettes he promised not to smoke
that day. But time after time I have
also been impressed with his persistence in reading the Book of Mormon or meeting
goals he set for what he wants in his life, or even how after everything – we did
not need to pass by and give him a call to make it to church on his own this
week. Something that really gets me and
that’s been able to help him a lot is that in reality – Sister Silva and I will
never understand completely how hard it is to be him. To fight that bodily dependence and
overwhelming urge he feels to revert back to old and destructive habits, no
matter how much he wants to quit. We can’t
just say “Hey eat a banana (he likes bananas) and say a prayer every time you
feel the urge to smoke!”
But we do have the ability to say, “Hey Diego there is one
who understands. One who never gives up
on believing that we can succeed, even when no one else seems to be able to,
including ourselves. One who already
passed through every pain and weakness, both physical and spiritual, that we
may ever know in our life time. And why
do you think He did that for us?”
Exactly for when we feel like Diego – alone, overwhelmed by our
inadequacies to do what we know we should, discouraged and without the ability
to see our life getting any better. Aka
how every single one of us has felt at some point in our lives. He did it to understand all that we would go
through and to give us His strength. He
did it to save us, both from the world and also from ourselves. He did it because He loves us.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken
unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Learning a lot folks – try to have a bit more faith and
patience this week. Whether in yourself
or in those around you. I promise you’ll
be able to see a difference. God always
keeps His promises.
AMO MUITO VOCES (LOVE YOU SO MUCH)
Sister Staheli
Saying goodbye to these people was super hard...
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| Kaio's dog had puppies |
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| Sister Silva is the BOMB |
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| Our district leader that only lasted uma semana (one week) |
