Yes, I'm Engaged!

Well, only according to the crazy guy we ran into last week. We were eating ice cream with some other missionaries when a crazy guy came in and started walking towards our table. One of the elders got up to talk to him and the man explained that he wanted to come in to ask me to marry him. The elder kindly explained that I was already engaged and after a bit of convincing, escorted him back out. For those of you who know how much I dislike being the center of attention, you'll know just how ironic it is that I stand out so much here. God has a sense of humor, no doubt about it :)

Another great week here in Aracaju. Still teaching Marcel and Elenilton, and we made a goal with them to work towards baptism. Elenilton is really excited and it is so cool to see him make changes for the better. He told us that he's had a really hard year and that us teaching him is an answer to his prayers. Again, just goes to show that God is just using us to bless other people. We are still visiting Junior and Alexandre as well. Junior told us this week how he felt when he was confirmed, which means that he recieved the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told us that he felt the Spirit stronger than ever before during his confirmation and that he knew he was making the right choice. Gosh, I love this work. I'm constantly amazed at the little miracles like that that we see all the time, and at the love I feel for these people.

Saturday, all of the missionaries in the southern area of Aracaju put together a devotional/activity sort of thing for the church members here. The theme was attributes of Christ and a few of us chose an attribute to speak about with some musical numbers as well. I spoke on faith, and also sang a musical number with my companion, Sister Cruz, and another elder from our district. Again- for those of you who know me well, you know that singing in front of other people absolutely terrifies me, but one thing I am learning here is that I really need to do a better job of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. In our zone conference a few weeks back, our mission president's wife said something that stuck with me: "The Lord loves you way too much to let you stay as you are." I have that phrase on my wall, and am making it a goal to get out of my comfort zone as much as I can, whether it is singing in front of a couple hundred people or just starting a conversation on the street. The phrase is so true- God gives us challenges to shape us into better and better people. We grow outside our comfort zones!! He sees us as we can become, not as we are now, and I'm grateful to have a little glimpse of that potential he sees in me.

After the activity, we all went out to açaí and I am so grateful for the friends I've made here. Every 6 weeks, we get 'transfers', which means we can move areas or companions. Sister Cruz and I are staying(thank goodness!), but a few of the people I have met here will be leaving to Alagoas tomorrow. I feel like I have known them a lot longer than 6 weeks and it will be really sad to see them go.

That being said, I'm officially done with my first transfer here in the mission and if all of my transfers go this fast, the next 15 months will fly by. I'm excited to meet some new missionaries and so very grateful I get to stay here with my companion in Atalaia.
Love you all and wishing you a happy week!! <3

Com amor,

Sister Lauren Mather

Pictures:
Vania, a member from our church here- LOVE HER
The zone
Bus ride back from açaí with elders Santos, Ribeiro, Mills, and Pinheiro(remind me to tell you about the buses in another email)