Shortest weekly email yet :-) Loving the new area, Aeroporto, and the investigators and companions; Will write more next wek

 I'm super out of time.  Sorry I'm not going to be able to tell you all about my new area and companions and everything, but I just wanted to write REEEEEALLY quickly to let you know that everything here is AWESOME!!!  I'm loving the area and the investigators so far, and my companions are great.  Sister Barros is CRAZY and is always ready to goof around with me.  It's fun.  :)  Sister Cardoso is super sweet and an awesome missionary.  She is very focused and really balances out Sister Barros' craziness.  We have a good balance in our trio, which is definitely important.  Anyways, I don't have time to write more, but don't worry, next week I'll be sure to have a lot of details to share!!

Transfers! My new area, Aeroporto in Londrina; Elaine was baptized! -- "nice way to end my time in Ibiporã"

Transfers once again... I was expecting to stay one more in Ibiporã, because we had a telephone conference on Friday with the entire mission and Pres. Tavares told us that the First Presidency has asked that missionaries stay in the same area 6-8 months.  And I've only been here...5 months now, right?  So I was pretty calm, figuring I still had a bit of time left here, but ... Sister Passos and I got a surprise phone call Sunday night from Pres. Tavares!!!  And yes, I'm being transferred.  I'm going to an area in Londrina called Aeroporto!  I don't know much about the area - all I know is that everyone jokes that you get super trunky there, because as the name suggests, it's really close to the airport and you have airplanes passing your window every 5 minutes.  :P  But I'm not too worried about that.  :)  I'm actually going to be working in a trio with Sister Cardoso and Sister Barros.  Aeroporto is in the same zone as Ibiporã (Zona Londrina), so I already know them pretty well, and I'll still be able to see all the other missionaries I already know in the zone, including Sister Passos (she'll be staying in Ibiporã to train a new sister!)  Ahh.  Always so much exciting stuff happening around transfer-time.

We were actually preparing everything for our baptism Sunday night when President Tavares called us with the transfers news.  It was a CRAZY evening because we spent the day in Jataizinho, visiting Igor and his family, and didn't get back until 5 minutes before the baptism was scheduled to begin.  We arrived in the chapel and realized that our ward mission leader had travelled to visit family that afternoon and, therefore, the baptismal font had not been filled and the (wow, I forgot the word for this) ... baptism ... outline...(?) had not been prepared.  :/ so we got to run around throwing everything together last second as usual.  :P  I swear some day I'll learn to plan efficiently so stuff like this doesn't happen to me.

BUT in the end everything worked out, as it always does.  And Elaine was baptized!  She's Jean's little sister and was super excited for her baptism - she is 12 years old and has been coming to church and the young women's activities.  It was a wonderful baptism, and a nice way to end my time here in Ibiporã.  :)  There are so many other people that we've been working with and I'll be so sad to leave and not be able to see them progress and be baptized...but I'm sure there are plenty of amazing people and experiences waiting for me in Londrina.  :)

Anyways, it sounds like everything is going well for you guys back home!  Running marathons and taking finals and landing jobs and all that good stuff.  :D  I'm so excited about all the amazing things you're all doing!  It's so good to hear about it all, keep me updated.  :)

Well I'm going to cut this one a bit short, it's going to be a busy day, packing suitcases and all.  I'm sure I'll have a lot more details to share next week, when I get to my new area and start getting to know everyone there!  It's going to be an adventure! 

Love,

 

Sister Gee

Angelica came to church! I'm doing super well here in Ibiporã!

.so, turns out that transfers are NEXT week.  I had heard somewhere that this transfer would be only 5 weeks, but I was wrong.  So you'll all just have to wait one more week to find out what will be happening next transfer.  :)

This week has been good.  Normal, and good.  Sister Passos and I have been trying to focus on finding new people to teach...it's amazing how quickly your teaching group can dry up if you're not constantly finding new investigators during the week.  We met a few interesting people this week, and hopefully will be able to continue working with them and helping them progress through the next few weeks.

The best part of the week was Sunday - Angelica came to church!!!  Sister Passos and I were both SO excited.  I don't remember if I've already mentioned her in past emails - she is Iago's mom (the 11-year old boy who was baptized a few weeks ago), and we've been working with her a lot the last few weeks.  We have been inviting her to come to church ever since we first met her, but something always happens last second that keeps her from being able to make it.  We showed up at her house at 8:40 am on Sunday morning, expecting to have to persuade and push her to come to church with us - and when we got there, her neighbor told us that she had already left to walk to the chapel alone.  I was surprised - it's rarely that easy to get someone to go to church, and Angelica had never showed too much enthusiasm whenever we passed by her house on Sunday mornings.  But sure enough, she was there in the Relief Society room when we got to the chapel!  She really enjoyed the church meetings and is already planning on coming next week.  She has a baptism date set for next Sunday, but that will depend on if she is able to quit smoking by then...We have been working so much with her and really trying to help her finally decide to quit.  You know?  She really does have the desire and knows that it's something she needs to do, but I think she still has a lot of doubts that she'll actually be able to do it.  But I know that with faith and determination, EVERYthing is possible.  :)

Well...that's about it from me for now.  Sorry, not a whole lot to report, but I really am doing super well here in Ibiporã!  It's so hard to believe that I've already been here for 5 months. :P  I'm getting so used to the members and the streets and the neighborhoods and everything...so while I wouldn't mind staying another transfer, a change might be good for me.  :)  We'll just have to see where the Lord wants me! 

Love,

Sister Gee

Conference was AMAZING! "so grateful this weekend to be a member of this Church"

Ready for General Conference

Hello Family!  I'm here a little bit later than usual today...Sister Passos and I got up early today to go for a jog around the park by our house, which was an amazing way to start the morning...We watched the sun rising through the clouds and I just couldn't help but singing a bit of "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" as we ran.  It was already in my head thanks to Conference yesterday, and it just seemed so appropriate at the moment!  :)  It was beautiful and refreshing and though I'm definitely not a runner, I loved it!  Now our P-Day time is running out fast, but hopefully we'll still have the time we need to get everything done today.  I was joking with Sister Passos earlier that missionaries have this idea of P-Day as a "day of rest" where you get to relax, nap a little, write letters, and basically do everything you want...when it really is just a "day of preparation", washing clothes, cleaning the house, grocery shopping... :P  There's really no resting involved at all!  But it's all good.  :)

 

First of all, YES, Conference was AMAZING!!!  I love love love love Conference.  :)  I always leave each session with a smile on my face, feeling a little bit lighter and closer to my Heavenly Father.  It's an amazing feeling, and I don't want to have to leave and go back to the daily routine.  I just felt so grateful this weekend to be a member of this Church, to have a prophet on the earth and to have the chance to hear their inspired counsels and guidance twice a year.  I was super nervous that I wouldn't be able to watch in English this time, because I'm the only American sister in the zone at the moment, meaning that I would have to leave my companion and watch alone with a bunch of elders. :P  But, I watched the first session in Portuguese with Sister Passos, and President Tavares gave me permission to watch the rest of the sessions in English.  What a blessing!  :)  I was surprised by how much easier it was to understand the talks in Portuguese after just 6 months since the last General Conference, but I was still so grateful to be able to watch in English.  Unfortunately, none of our investigators were able to make it...it was so sad, because I kept thinking "AHH, this talk is perfect for So-and-So..." but they weren't there to hear any of it.  :P  It was so sad to me that sometimes people don't realize what an amazing thing they're missing out on, and how much they could be blessed by attending Conference.  But I will definitely be putting the beautiful messages to use in my teaching over the next few weeks!  And Sister Passos and I kept the Priesthood Session tradition - stopping for ice cream!   :D

 

Ice cream during the priesthood session

 

Let's see, what else happened this week....our District Meeting was in Cornélio Procópio, a neighboring city where our leaders are working right now.  It was Sister Passos' and my first time visiting there, so it was a bit of an adventure.  :)  We got a little bit lost, but the loooong bus ride was a nice opportunity for a nap!  It was a really good meeting, and I am always so impressed by our leaders - Cornélio has a reputation in the mission as one of the hardest areas - an extremely small ward and A LOT of hills - but they don´t EVER complain, and they are working so hard and being blessed with success.  I really admire their example and I'm trying to put out the same dedication and faith here in Ibiporã!

Well, next week will be transfers once again....can you believe it?  Time is flying!  :D  I'll be sure to let you know all of the changes and news in my email next week.  I am so so grateful to be here serving a mission - I am learning SO much every single day, and I love being able to help people come unto Christ and learn of this amazing gospel.  :D

Love,

Sister Gee

Ups and downs; Kauani, "I can't miss church!"; Easter activity

Ovos de pascoa  -- Easter Eggs

Hello everyone, and Happy April!  I'm so excited for this month, it's got so many exciting things in store - Conference, most of all.  I just love Conference, it's always so good to hear the inspiring messages from our prophet and other Church leaders.  I feel like the last General Conference was just a few weeks ago, I can't believe that it's already time for another one!  I'm praying super hard that I'll be lucky enough to be able to watch in English again this time...but either way I know it's going to be amazing!

This week has been good - ups and downs, just like the mission usually is.  We've been focusing lately on a new family we found last week - Silvio and Sandra, and their 5 kids: Kauani, Gabriel, Kamila, Gustavo and Kemile.  :)  We met them through a member, which is always a plus.  It is so much easier to bring an investigator to church, help them build a testimony and decide to be baptized when they already have the support and friendship of the members!  They are a wonderful family and I already can see so much of the potential they have.  Kauani, the oldest daughter, is 12 years old and has already been to church two or three times.  We're working with her and Kamila, 9, to help them prepare to be baptized this weekend!  The rest of the family still hasn't come to church yet, so their baptism will be a few weeks from now.  It was so sweet - on Sunday, we were a little bit disappointed because Sandra and Silvio hadn't shown up to Church.  Kauani arrived a little bit late, and as we went to greet her at the door, I gave her a hug and said something like, "I'm so glad you came!"  She smiled and said, "I can't miss church!"  She is so young and already is such an amazing example to me.  Hopefully she'll be able to continue being that strong example of faith and dedication to the rest of her family as well.

Thursday was ZONE CONFERENCE!  Ahh, I love Zone Conference.  We get to go to the stake center in Londrina, all chique and dressy, see all the other missionaries in our zone, hear awesome talks and training from our leaders, including President and Sister Tavares, and basically just spend the whole day receiving spiritual nourishment and learning and growing together.  It's the best!!  I think one of the themes of the conference was definitely FAITH.  We started out with the story of David and Goliath, the FAITH that he had to prepare, trust in the Lord, and then RUN into the battle.  It was super fun - complete with a life-size Goliath and an elder that got to defeat him with a sling shot and tennis balls. :)  Sister Tavares shared an inspiring message about Authority and the Priesthood - even though it doesn't apply directly to us as sisters, I really appreciated the things she taught us.  As members of this Church, we have a responsibility and a calling - we are agents that ACT, not just wait to be acted upon.  "To break this covenant, it's enough to simply do nothing".  How's that for motivating, right?  :P  :)  But it was so good to be there and learn and learn and learn.  I'm always amazed by how much I'm learning here on the mission - and at how much I still don't know. :P  :)  But it's such a blessing to be here and I'm always so grateful for the opportunity to hear and learn from President and Sister Tavares!  They really are inspired.

 

Friday was super crazy - we had come up with the idea to have an Easter activity on Sunday last week, brought it up in the branch leadership meeting on Wednesday, and the members decided it would be better to have the activity on Friday than on Saturday like we planned, so we got to throw everything together in one day (as we spent all day Thursday in our zone conference in Londrina).  It was stressful and not very well thought out, but we somehow managed to put together an activity, and it actually turned out okay.  And you will not believe how hard it is to find egg dye here in Brazil!!!  haha :)  We presented a short movie clip about the Resurrection and afterwards had games - an egg race and of course the Gee Family Egg Spinning Contest.  :)  It was super fun and I think the members here really enjoyed it.  It was fun to bring a little bit of my Easter traditions here to Brazil and share it with others.  :)  

 

We spent Sunday morning running around the city hunting down our investigators as usual, and walked in to the chapel about 15 minutes late to find a BIG surprise waiting for us - President Tavares at the front of the class, teaching the Sunday School lesson!  Neither of us knew that he would be coming to visit the branch, so we were definitely taken by surprise.  Fortunately we had a pretty good turnout of investigators, so he knows we're not slacking around here in Ibiporã!  haha :)  I think he probably had felt bad for missing the fireside last week, so decided to make up for it by visiting the branch.  He taught the Sunday School class, participated in our Gospel Principles class and spoke in Sacrament Meeting.  It was really special to have him there, and hear a little bit more of his counsel and testimony.  He and Sister Tavares left us with a few Easter presents - ovos de pascoa and a big brand new water filter for our house.  Woohoo!  :)

Anyways, dear family, I love you all so much.  I am so so so so blessed to have such an amazing group of people who love me and support me and pray for me during this time of my life as a missionary in Brazil.  It's something that I really truly am so grateful for.  I hope you all know how much you mean to me!  I know that this truly is the Church of Jesus Christ and I am so grateful for the countless blessings that we receive as members - a living prophet, the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the beautiful temples, eternal families... and so so many more!  I know that we are here with a purpose in our lives - to learn and to grow and prepare to go back to our Heavenly Father's presence.  I hope you are always looking to improve and prepare a little bit more each day.  I hope you are treasuring the words of the prophets, both modern and ancient - read the scriptures, read the Ensign, apply the things you learn to your every-day life!  I know it's what God expects of us and I know it will make all the difference.  

Well, until next week.  Tchau!

Love,

Sister Gee