Week 73 -- Mosiah 2:41

Hey fam!

Don't have a ton of time to write this week but just wanted to show a SUPER real example of the following scripture: 

Mosiah 2:41

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. 

So there's this guy in the ward who's name is Caninde and he's literally one of the most humble and Christ-like people I have ever met. 

He is a simple baker and had a super hard problem of smoking (the one that started when he was 8) but has always treated everyone around him with genuine kindness - literally gives EVERYTHING he has, even if it’s hardly anything. 

So this is a picture of us in his house about a month ago - super simple, only had a rede and a stove to make food.  

Then enter the part about those who keep the commandments are not only ridiculously happy, but also blessed in a spiritual AND physical way. 

Caninde, although not having much, working EVERY DAY to be able to have the simplest of living, began to pay tithing. 

And man did the Lord provide. 

This is a picture of Caninde's house this past week – 

complete with a refrigerator, a brand new dresser, a better job that pays more with less hours, a GIGANTIC BED (did you SEE the size of that thing??), and is now on the lunch calendar to feed 4 sisters every month. 

Who can deny that this man was infinitely blessed by the Lord for his faith and obedience, even with his difficult situation?

TRUST IN THE PROMISES OF THE LORD AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. 

People who listen and obey God's commandments in humility really are the most happy of all His children. 

love you all!!

Sister Staheli

LESS THAN A MONTH #whatishappening?

Gorete <3

Week 72 -- Take time to listen

Birthday twins

I had a surprise this week!  Elder Patty in our district also had a birthday and this family in the ward wanted to do something for him and someone along the way said that he had this undying love for bolo de milho (corn cake) (which he does not not even like that much) and so everyone started giving him bolo de milho.  And there was a night that they invited everyone over to share it, but I wasn’t really interested about going because we had other commitments.  But my companion managed to practically drag me there and I get there to find that it was actually a birthday surprise for me too.  And as I sat there surrounded by these people that I love so much, I felt super loved as everyone shouted and sang to us and we all ate homemade bolo de milho.  Did I already mention how much they love corn here?  #PrepareYourselvesStaheliFam  #Anne’sBringingTheMilhoToColorado

I want to talk about a miracle this week which was Dilene.  So we actually were looking for a different house of a member but simply got super lost and confused.  I saw this little purple doorway of a house that looked like the type of place that sells acai (there is a lot here) but as we got close, we realized it was actually all alcohol.  My companion just gives me this – Are you sure kind of look? But the spirit was strong and I plowed on and bati as palmas (said let’s go) and proceeded to ask if she knew our friend.  And thus emerges Dilene – one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met.  

After talking for a little, she quickly calls us in and starts to open up and tell us her life story.  I think one of the most powerful ways to love and help someone is just to listen.  I think that’s been one of the strongest lessons I’ve learned on the mission – the importance of silence and letting that person release everything that they had been guarding for so long.  Sometimes you don’t even have to know what to say.  Just being there and taking time to listen is already more than enough to cure the wounded soul. 

And so with us there to listen, Dilene opened her heart about her 2 daughters who she loves so much but has stopped talking to for several years.  How her husband passed away and how she only feels less lonely in her empty house when she kneels by her bed to pray.  How she sometimes will drink with her friends but really would leave it all with the simplest sign from the Lord that He was there.  And she’s just crying the whole time.  And then in the end she surprised us by throwing her arms around us in a tight and strong embrace. 

I think it was one of the lessons that I said the least and felt the spirit the most.  Listening gente (people) is a gift God’s given us that I think we have come to neglect.  When was the last time we took time to see if someone really was doing ok or just accepted “fine” as being “good enough”  I know we get busy, but there are so many around us that are suffering so much.  My challenge this week is to not only take time but make time to sit down and listen to someone who really needs it.

It makes all the difference and is what the Savior would do if He were here!

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Staheli

Week 71 -- Power of the presence of the spirit

October 14, 2019

Ah, can I just say how much I love you guys?  Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and birthday wishes you all passed my way last week.  I really felt loved and hugged a lot by reading your letters and eating my mom’s homemade granola.  My pday/birthday was consumed with a leadership conference and a trip to the Fed police station, but I did manage to talk to my parents the last 30 minutes of the day.  That was enough to make the day great.

You want to know what we did this week as a district?  Two words:  MATCHING T-SHIRTS #AlecrimDistrict.  There’s an elder in our mission whose art skills are legit and he drew a picture of us all!  It turned into a pretty awesome shirt.  But what we soon realized is that if you tuck the shirt in, in goes about half the district.  Imagining all the little floating heads sticking out of everyone’s waistline was enough to almost make me cry I was laughing so hard.   #GotToEnjoyTheSmallThings

I’m sure you are all tired of hearing this, but this really was a week of miracles.  I don’t think I’ll ever get over how amazing it is to see hearts being touched and changed by the power of the spirit and people earnestly opening the dark parts of themselves to let the light, love and peace of the gospel of Jesus Christ take away their pain.  Or even watching how sometimes the absence of the spirit is more impacting and shocking than the constant influence of the spirit we are able to feel.

We really saw this with Eduardo this week (the one that we chased down).  He has been struggling with one of the commandments ever since we started teaching him.  But when we taught him that it was wrong, he kind of laughed it off and continued on his merry way, without even the slightest sense of guilt.  But then he started reading the Book of Mormon.  He started praying and then asking questions in his prayers and he began to really feel the warmth and peaceful presence of the spirit, right?  But then in a moment of weakness, he fell into temptation and caved again.  And how did he feel this time that was entirely different from the previous occasions?  Angustra, (distress) overwhelming shame and guilt, absolutely the worst.  But what made this time so much worse?  Why would this time be any different when it was so easily and guiltlessly done before?  

Because for the first time, Eduardo had experienced how it felt to lose the spirit.  He felt how amazing and comforting it was to have the spirit with you and then how bare, vulnerable and empty it is without Him.  And wow, you don’t even know how he was seriously in the pits of the pits.  But that was his choice.  We asked him WHO had forced him to be there, WHO had made him feel that way, and I think because the answer was NOONE other than himself, made him feel all the worse.  And I get it – although his difficulties are different than mine, I know how he feels.  I think we all do – we are all human right?  We ALL have moments when we fall into the same mistakes and we ALL know how unbearable that pain is.  God knows us better than anyone, He literally CREATED our spirit and gave us our strengths and weaknesses.  And the most amazing thing He ever gave us is His son, our Salvador (Savior) Jesus Christ.

Alma 36:17-21

17  And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

18  Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

19  And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

20  And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

21  Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

The atonement of Jesus Christ is real and has the ability to change us.  Turn our pain into joy and guilt into peace.  But it can’t happen by itself, we need to seek after it.  I’m so grateful for my Savior.  I know He’s ready and willing to forgive each one of us.  Trust in Him and do those things that invite the spirit to be with you.  I promise that you will be all the more happy because of it.

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Staheli

Week 70 -- Pizza e luvinhas

7 Outubro 2019   #21 ANOS!!!!  (October 7, 2019 - #21 years old!!!)

# conferencia geral (General Conference)  I hope everyone was able to watch it!

It is unreal how much I love my mission.  Oh my gosh guys, THIS WEEK I ATE PIZZA WITH PLASTIC GLOVES.  #LostMyAmericanPride.  SO something I’ve seriously come to appreciate here on the mission is that everyone eats EVERYTHING with a knife and a fork (or sometimes spoon).  Things like sandwiches or batatas fritas (french fries) they will pick up with their hands, but like PIZZA or CHICKEN WINGS…..it’s all in the utensils gente! 

This week I did splits with a trio (which had a pretty amazing miracle.  I’ll explain below) and to celebrate said miracle, we went out to pizza night.  But this place doesn’t give you plates to eat on (even though it’s got a pretty chic vibe) but only putting a can of plastic “luvinhas” (gloves) and a napkin or two on your table.  Also it’s been 16 meses (months) here in Brazil and I still have yet to eat a pizza with tomato sauce (or any molho (sauce)) for that matter.  They just serve it with cheese and other toppings (they like sausage and this cottage cheese) and they just put a ton of ketchup on the table to use if you want!

But, I’d like to talk about the miracle of Panatis that happened this week.

There are some sisters in an area in Panatis that I take care of that have really been struggling for a few months now.  They’d been getting pretty disenchanted and stressed about the people they’ve been teaching and felt that even though they were giving EVERYTHING, nothing was happening.  I call them regularly and prayed a lot to know how to help them, but I woke up one morning and felt really inspired that God needed/wanted me by their side for a couple of days.  So day of, I grabbed a backpack and off I went – and what a day it was.  So we’re in the house of one of the families they were teaching, whose son had been baptized over a year ago and their mom was getting pretty interested in the Church and the Book of Mormon.  Only one problem gente – Ela ainda nao casu com a pai dos dois filhos dela e esta no processo ainda (She has not yet married the father of her two children and is not in the process of doing so.)  #After20+Years.  But, she has been going regularly to church and loves it.  So we get there and start talking to her and her daughter about KPOP (popular S. Korean music) (don’t even ask why but literally ALL of the 12 year old girls are crazy about them  #BTS  Bangton Boys Band) and then later talked about the church (naturally J lol) and came to find out that the daughter had NEVER stayed in the room before when the sisters arrived because she’s super shy, but that day for some reason she stayed.  We find out that she had actually had a ton of questions about our purpose here on earth that she had asked her brother over the span of several months and had learned many things little by little.  Prompted by the spirit, we taught her about how important our life is here and (once again encouraged by a spiritual push) I challenged her to be baptized the following week.  She just thinks about it and goes, “This is what I want.  I want to follow Jesus Christ.”  And I look over at the 2 sisters and there is this look of COMPLETE SHOCK – like eyes wide open and boca aberta (open mouths) and everything (I wish I had taken a picture).  Keep in mind that it had been MONTHS and MONTHS since they’ve had any success and so really were not believing it right?  THEN her brother walks in (who’s 21 and has been preparing to leave on a mission soon) and we are just already dying over how he’s going to react and we are like “Hey you know what will happen on Saturday?”

“No – Meet Up?” (Which is a huge church youth conference they do every year in Brazil)

“Nope.  Um batismo” 

“De quem?”

“Da Luana.”

He goes into shock, looking everyone in the eyes to see if it’s true.  He sees that it is real, runs over and tackles his sister in a bear hug, kissing her cheeks and agrees to baptize her. 

-        Everyone is crying. 

-        Sister Staheli’s feeling like her heart is about to explode of pure joy and happiness for them.

-        We find out that it was always Luca’s dream that his sister would be baptized before leaving on a mission. 

-        The sisters de Panatis are able to feel hopeful and realize how apt and willing Heavenly Father is to grant them miracles when they really believe and work for it. 

-        Heavenly Father manages to blow Sister Staheli’s mind yet again with His infinite goodness.

-        Sisters celebrate by eating chicken and sausage pizza with stuffed crust, complete with luvinhas (plastic gloves) and ketchup.  And Sister Staheli realizes that sometimes life is short and you’ve got to stop to enjoy and celebrate the good times and tender mercies of the Lord.

Oh also, not only did God bless the sisters of Panatis but also the sisters of Alecrim as Joao Vitur was able to feel strong and prepared to take upon himself the nome de Cristo (the name of Christ) and be baptized.  JUST TRY TO TELL ME GOD IS NOT GOOD GENTE.

Believe in miracles folks.  They are real.

Personal Revelation is real.

The Spirit is real.

God is real.

AMO VOCES

Sister Staheli

My birthday breakfast - Acai Bowl 

Our district