Mirror Stealers and Miracles Again

When we got to the apartment 2 weeks ago, we were disappointed to find that our house didn't have a mirror. These past weeks we have been sharing a tiny mirror that my companion brought from home. But this week as we were walking on the street we passed a couple bags of trash in front of a broken mirror that someone had left out for the garbage truck. We got a lot of strange looks as we grabbed it and hurriedly brought it back to our apartment but hey, god blesses in mysterious ways.

Best part of the week: Larissa!! Tuesday we were knocking doors when an Elder who served in this area last year called. He passed the name of someone he was visiting last year and wanted us to see how she was. We wrote the name down, he explained a little bit about her, and he said he would call later with her address. We started walking and when we got to a road intersection, I felt like we should enter. So we turned and guess who's door was the  FIRST one we knocked?? Larissa!!! She welcomed us in and started telling us that she already knew missionaries in the past and that she still remembered some of the things they taught her. As we conversed more and more, it became more and more evient that she was the person Elder Costa had called us about not 20 minutes before. She is 20 years old, has a 1 year-old son, and is living with her mom. We visited her a few times this week and had such good conversations about the Spirit, the restoration, and she told us she feels something every time she talks with missionaries, something that tells her it is true. But she said she never had the courage to directly ask God if everything was true, partly because she didn't want to recieve an answer and have to follow it. But now that she ended things with her ex-boyfriend and is raising her son, she explained how she wants to give him the best she can give, and that if this gospel really was the gospel of Christ, it could be exactly what she needs for her and her son. She traveled this weekend but we are so so so excited to go back and see what she felt when she prayed.

We are also working with a family we met as we were in between visits one day. Ademir and Eliziane are the parents, and they have 2 kids - Amanda(8) and Arthur(4). We feel the Spirit so strong when we are with them and even Ademir, who never was a religious person, came to listen as we taught about the Restoration of the gospel and what it could mean to their family to be together forever. When we went back to help them with the reform of their house on Saturday, he greeted us with a handshake and told us that we "were at home at their house." They have gotten really close really quick and want to come to church with us this Sunday. I will try and take a picture this week!!

Other highlights of the week:singing in a missionary fireside with the rest of the zone, teaching Sister Hamilton to make brigadeiros, celebrating Sister Lora's 21st bday in the lanhouse today, and just taking advantage of the time we have here. I am really liking this area and the ward is pretty small but the members are great and the time is going wayyyyyy too fast.

Thank you for your prayers, I am so grateful for all the people I've got in my corner <3

Love,

Sister Lauren Mather

Photos/videos:
first of many brigadeiros (except we were too lazy to make the actual brigadeiro so we just poured it on a plate and called it good)
view from the 20th floor of our building
stolen mirror...tender mercy...
my cutest companion
missionary fireside with the zone
sis loras birthday!!
more pictures of the area(that huge apartment building in the top corner is ours!!)