Blessings in Disguise

First of all, wanted to apologize that when I wrote my email last week, I think it was pretty obvious how frustrated I was feeling with our new situation. I was exhausted and sick still and problems seem a million times bigger when you are tired. Also want to thank the many people that responded with encouraging emails and support. Sometimes I forget how many people I've got in my corner and I love you guys.

As for the subject line, this new change has been a blessing, until now at least! We saw miracles this week and I will name a few:

1- Tamires, a woman we started teaching last week, works until noon every Sunday. Now that church starts at 2, she is able to attend!! Yesterday she spent easter out of town with her family but next week comitted to come and I am really excited. When we taught her about the Restoration of the gospel and the Book of Mormon, it was as if she already knew it. She understood everything perfectly and the Spirit was so strong.

2- Our ward is pretty weak and I was worried this would make it worse but our bishop was able to rent a bus to take everyone to church and if we continue doing it, I think it will really help the unity in our ward here. And it makes for great time to introduce the people that we bring to visit! It was pretty funny when almost our entire ward arrived at the chapel and we got some pretty great looks from people on the street.

3- Nazaré, another woman we have been visiting, finally came to church yesterday and loved it!! Her grandson left for a mission when I got here and up until now, she has never really wanted to come to church. But we taught her the past couple weeks and out of nowhere she started progressing more than we even expected. She lives the next street over from us and is like our substitute grandma here. She always makes our favorite foods when we go to visit her <3

4- Since I started in my new calling, I have had barely any time to study. We have district meeting every week, and with at least one division every week and church at 8:30 on Sundays we were usually left with 1 or 2 days to study in the morning. It was the only thing that I really had a hard time with and was praying to somehow find more time without taking away from my other responsibilities because I want to take advantage of the time I have here to study and strengthen my testimony as much as I can. So, with this new change, I have now 1 hour, but THREE to study every Sunday morning. It makes up for the time lost in the week and I am so so grateful for my tender mercies.

Sad news is that Marisa and Messias told us they dont want to attend church anymore. They didnt give us a real reason why, but I am almost certain that the pastor of their other church, Assembleia, said something about us. Not the first time it has happened... But it still amazes me that someone can have so many answers, even a dream, from God, and still decide not to follow what they have recieved. It was sad because I grew to love those two but also find comfort in the fact that we did everything we were able to do.

This week just goes to show that we see so little in comparison to what God has in store for us. It always, always works out. Again, grateful for the experiences in my mission that are helping me understand that.

Love you all,

Sister Lauren Mather

Pictures:
açai on pday(of course)
the zone
sister hiddleston <3
more pics from zone conference
fantastic 4 reunited
celebrating a great lesson with ice cream
ward bus
my best friend atchurch <3
nazaré!!
a cat i saved from the middle of the road

Just Keep Swimming...or Sinking...

Our chapel officially closed yesterday... sounds all a little too familiar!! Same thing happened in my other area and the missionary work got a whole lot harder so I am trying to have a positive outlook on the next weeks here. It is going to be really difficuly because the chapel we will attendis a 20 minute drive away but seeing as we are in a poorer area, almost no one has a car or money to pay $20 for an uber every Sunday. 2 ward members have cars but they are both full and don't think they will be able to help take people to church. BUT miracles are real! We had an exhausting week and 6 people commited to come to church but when we went to pick them up yesterday, not one ended up coming. Also got pretty sick this weekend and didnt get the chance to rest so it got worse.

 So as I sat in our tiny sacrament meeting all of the exhaustion and dissapointment and pain I was feeling I just started to cry when they announced that our chapel was also closing. I am giving everything and want so SO bad to just be able to help someone come to churhc, progress, be baptized, something. Just to see someone, anyone, really  progress. But with the problem getting worse and the work getting harder and harder sometimes I feel like everything I am doing and the sacrifices I am making are for nothing, are in vain. But last night as I went to pray and not gonna lie, sort of complain to God about everything that was happening, I remembered the week I chose to study about the Atonement and sacrifice that Christ made for each one of us. Studying about the fact that he sacrificed for every single one of our sins, our faults, our challenges, everything. He felt literally every single thing that we as mortals pass through in this life, and did it all willingly because of the perfect love that He has for us. And how many times do we put that sacrifice to waste? How many times do I make it in vain? How many times do I let my stubborn will or pride keep me from repenting, from forgiving, from changing? Christ, my brother, sacrificed everything and died for me, just to make it possible for me to live with my Heavenly Father again. To make up the difference between my imperfection and the perfection that is required to return home someday. Everything has already been done, paid, justice was satisfied, and all He asks is that I use His Atonement. That I follow him with my whole heart and let Him make me more than I could do on my own. I'm comparing our problem with Christ's sacrifice in Gethsemane and on the cross, but at the beginning of my mission, my dad told me that I was 'learning to love as Christ does.' And for that I am grateful, that even though I feel so freaking frustrated sometimes, that I get to experience and really understand a little bit of the love that Christ has for us.

Sorry for the rant but thought important to share, especially as we are approaching Easter and celebrating that sacrifice that Christ made for us. I love my Savior so very much, and I am slowly learning and understanding just how much he loves me.

I'll spare you guys a novel and include pictures from the rest of the week :)

Love you all and HAPPY early EASTER!

Sister Lauren Mather

Photos:
when you only have one mirror
leadership meeting!!
coconuts from messias and marisa
10 months!!
our buddy Deiveyson
division with sister Ferreira!

That Was Totally!! .....normal?

After hearing from pretty much everyone at church that a change in missions would be announced this weekend in general conference, we came away strangely normal and unsurprised in regards to anything that happened. It was an amazing weekend and I always love general conference, more and more the older I get. I have absolutely no doubt that Christ lives and that He directs his restored church- the same church that he established during His lifetime. And I am so grateful to be spreading that good news to the people I love so dang much here in Brasil.

This week flew by and I am loving my time with Sister Seumanu again. To be honest, the first couple days were really weird and it was the first time I have realized that I have changed during my time here in Brasil. It was weird cause we are such good friends but also different than we were 10 months ago and we had to readjust a little bit with how we have both changed. But it wasn't long before we got over that weird part and back to best friends. Seriously, our only problem is that we don't sleep cause we stay up too late talking. This morning, we got up, studied, and instead of coming straight to the centro she ended falling asleep in the hammock and me on the floor for 2 hours. So if that's our worst problem right now, I'm not complaining.

Spent most of the week introducing the members, finding new people to visit, etc... nothing too exciting. We did have a little miracle the other day when we brought Vania, a member of the church here, to visit Marisa and Messias. A lady at church on Sunday made them a little annoyed and we were worried that they would not want to come to church anymore. BUT we brought Vania with us to visit them and she spoke exactly what Marisa needed to hear. She ended up crying, Vania ended up crying, and I am just here grateful to be a part of the tiny miracles that happen here.

Still trying to work with Carlos and his family, but more to come as more things happen.

One thing I loved in conference was the talk about how God doesn't always give us gifts or talents, but rather puts us in situations or places or with people that help us develop the spiritual gifts or talents we are promised. Of course I immediately thought of my mission and I say it all the time but revelation is real and I know the things I am learning here are exactly what God wanted me to experience. He is powerful, bigger than we can imagine, but He is also my Heavenly Father and I know He is taking care of me in all the details of my life.

Hope you all had a good conference weekend and if you didn't have the chance to watch it, it is worth the time, whether you are a member of the church or not!!

Love you all,

Sister Lauren Mather

PS. My computer has been having internet issues today and I won't have time to respond to some of you because we have to catch a train back to our area. But I so appreciate your emails and will be able to respond next week!!


PHOTOS and VIDEOS
saying bye to Lisboa... we both cried
new district
reunited <3
spontaneous rainstorm

GUESS WHAT(also I ate ants)

I AM GOING TO BE COMPANIONS WITH SISTER SEUMANU AGAIN!!! She was my companion in the MTC and we became best friends!!!! President called my companion last night to tell her she would train and asked to talk really quick with me. He told me he doesn't usually call just to give the transfer but since he was already talking with my companion he wanted to tell me. Also I think he wanted to hear my reaction :) But he said something along the lines of "I just wanted to let you know you will be staying in your area and I'm not sure if you know your new companion, you might have talked to her a few times in the mission...." At this point I was getting nervous thinking it would be a problematic person, but after a long pause he said "it´s Sister Seumanu." I screamed and asked if he was lying and he reassured me that he wasn't, that I really would be companions with her!!! I still can't believe it, I am so excited. We always talked about being companions again in the mission and I never thought it would actually happen!!

Other good news: My companion right now, Sister Lisboa, is going to my first area- Atalaia!! There are going to be 4 sisters there now!!!!! I talked with president a few months back about putting another group there and it is finally happening!! That areais my second home and I am sending a million cards with her to Atalaia. And I am already telling all the members there how awesome she is and I know they will just love her. And she might be there for the baptisms of some of the people I was teaching there- couldn't have asked for a better person.  I am sad to say bye to her but she is going to love it there.

As far as the people we are visiting here, we met a lot of promising people this week and Carlos, Marisa, and Messias came to church again yesterday. No one new came because it was pouring rain(see video) but this new week I have high hopes.

Only bad news this week: remember how my other area was literally sinking and everyone was leaving and it was kind of a mess? So turns out that the problem extends to more than just that neighborhood and our chapel will close here inthe next couple weeks because it is also in the danger zone. And since this is a poorer area, it will be near impossible to bring people to church. There is only one person in our ward who owns a car and it is already full every Sunday. But for now, the chapel is open and we will solve that problem when we get to it. Our bishop is really worried that our ward, which is already very fragile, will fall apart. In the beginning of sacrament meeting yesterday there were 12 people and 3 were visitors that we brought. By the end, there were a little more than 20 but the ward here isn't doing so hot. BUT we will take everything as it comes, right? For now the chapel is open and this weekend is general conference anyways. Which I am so excited for. Lots of talk that the time for missions will change...?

Other highlights of the week:
- Edna, from my other area, somehow got our number and called me out of theblue this week!!! SO good to talk to her and we are planning to meet up one of these Mondays.
- The ward talent show we planned worked out perfect!! You know it is a good activity when more people come to the activity than come to church on Sunday :)
- Visited the sisters in Paraiso again and ate pizza, played games, checked up to see how there are. They improved a lot this transfer and it was a fun night.
- I ATE ANTS. HUGE ANTS. Like 5 times bigger than carpenter ants in the USA. They come out when it rains so a member got afew and fryed them for us without telling us what it was. I almost puked when she told me what it was after but to be honest it just tasted like popcorn. See pics :)

Sorry this is so long but I am so excited for this next transfer. I love this area, love my new/old companion, and eventhough this transfer will be wuite the challenge I know it will be a good one. If there is one thing I have learned in the mission, it is that God is capable of working miracles in our lives. Something that seems absolutely impossible can turn into the most faith-building experience.

Love,
Sister Mather

PHOTOS/VIDEOS:
facemasks(we woudnt be 20 year old girls if we didnt have pictures like this...)
views from our area
with the sisters
ants. ew.
when you cant take the heat anymore
the things we do to get people to church
voice recording of a lady 'preaching' to us.. story for another day