Prosseguir com Fé

Hello all! 

I don´t have much time but what´s going on here is a little bit of doubt that we can really handle 2 areas and 2 wards but more trust in Heavenly Father! I ate sting ray the other day which is surprisingly SO GOOD. I highly recommend it. We have 4 baptisms marked for Wednesday and I´m praying that all will go well! Lucas and Cleyson are cousins and are both 14 and Eduarda and Luiza are 15 and 10 and are the daughters of a less active that is returning to the church! They are all planning on becoming members of The Church of Jesus Christ this week and I´m so proud of their decisions! :) I feel like I am family with the members and our investigators here, so when I have to leave it´s going to be way hard! But thank you all for your prayers and love! I know this church is true and the power of prayer is real.

Com amor,

Sister Garrick

No photos because I didn’t have time to take photos this week (40 investigators and an area that we can’t find anything cause our maps are so outdated and I don´t know how to read a map that well. I miss google maps so much haha) 

Double the Work, Double the Chin

Why the title? Because this week was transfers and I get to be senior companion of Sister M. Costa who I already love because I got to know her in the CTM when she arrived in the field with me! Double the work because we are going to be opening the area Gravatá while still working in the area Boa Vista! Our area is huge and it´s 2 different wards.  Now we will be given lunch and dinner by members! (double the chin) Thank goodness our area is straight mountains and exercise!

This week we had splits in Garunhuns which was way fun and I learned a lot! Remember the word we heard in one conference "ponderize?" Well here it´s "ponderizar" haha! I´m going to start ponderizando the scriptures some more this week!

I don´t have much time again so that´s about it, but please pray for me in this gigantic area! I´m so bad at reading maps! :( I love you all and I love this gospel.  One thing that comforted me this week with all this crazy news and stress was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  There are not many things that are more soothing than listening to them sing the hymns.  Okay tchau tchau for now!


Love,

Sister Garrick 

This gigantic ant that we found in Garanhuns (people are starting to eat them here) 

 Last District Meeting of the Transfer 

 Garanhuns 

Eduarda who always helps us teach :) 

1st counselor in Boa Vista and his family :) 

Eduarda gave us the shirts they use in school here 

and we thought it was the coolest thing ever

Sister M. Costa and I :)

Our area 

I got to spend the night teaching and spending time with Sister DiSpirito in my area last night as we waited for our companions to arrive today! 

Nossa Lei é Batizar e Confirmar

Òla! 

I hope everyone had a great week! This week we had "Boot Camp" with Presidente Bigelow and we learned how to better our teaching, how to work with leaders, and work with members! Everything he taught us works... it really works! We are spending more time getting to know the members, building relationships of trust, sharing spiritual messages, and asking for referrals.  We have found some of the best people to teach by working with members and simply asking, "Who do you think God is preparing in this moment to hear the message of the gospel?" Our mission president is the BEST! I love him and am so grateful to be a missionary here! He is here alone these days because his wife and children went back into Utah these past few weeks because one of his daughters is getting married and he can´t go! :( That must be so hard, but he has the best attitude! 

This week Vitor was baptized and confirmed and he even bore his testimony in fast and testimony meeting yesterday! In fact all the primary kids did because of his example! 2 new families also moved into our ward and they are great! Seriously answers to many prayers.

I also started teaching an English class at the church this week for members, investigators, and anyone who wants to learn! It´s way fun! But that was about all that happened that I remember well- don´t let a day pass by where you don´t read The Book of Mormon! Love and miss you all!

Beijos,

Sister Garrick

Photo 1: Vitor´s Baptism! 

Photo 2: We only had the keys to one of the doors to the baptismal font 

so after we filled it came the challenge haha

Photo 3: All the peanut butter my family sent me 

(They don´t have it in Brasil) 

Photo 4: Our mission logo in play-dough that my mom sent me hahaha

Escutamos a voz do profeta #LDSCONF

Òla meus queridos amigos!  

I hope everyone had a super amazing and uplifting Conference weekend! If you weren´t able to watch one of the sessions (Like me-no Women´s Session :(  ) you can go to lds.org and watch or read all of them!!! Trust me there´s nothing better you could do- it´s worth your time! 

This week was great! We are going to have another baptism tomorrow! His name is Vitor! He´s only 10 years old and his parents aren´t members, but he lives with his grandma who is! She is a great example to him, and Vitor- wow. He is a great example to me! His parents finally let him be baptized and he told us he´s been waiting so long for this moment.  He understands so much about the gospel and KNOWS that it´s true! We told him that because he´s following the right path, the adversary is going to try to tempt him or lead him astray.  He said, "I´ve waited so long for this, I will not let any obstacle get in my way." He made me really think- we know this gospel is true- let us be like Vitor.  Once you know this gospel is true- don´t let anything get in your way from following the example of Christ and trying to become like Him. 

This week was also April Fools which was fun.  I told everyone I was from Porto Alegre, Brasil.  You know what´s funny??  If I tell people I´m American they stop understanding me, but if i say I´m Brasilian they understand.  HA! People are telling me here that I don´t have an American accent anymore- it´s the best feeling ever! I know I have one, but it´sgood to see that I´ve progressed! The gift of tongues is real! 

Wasn´t it so great to hear our prophet, Thomas S. Monson and all the leaders of our church this weekend?  We brought 8 investigators with us to watch at the church and we told some of them to write any question they had  down and it would be answered during conference! They told us that it worked and they loved it! You can for sure bet on the prophet to give investigators a spiritual experience!  I as well wrote down questions and received answers.  It was a great experience and I encourage all to do the same next time!  Some of my favorite things from #LDSConf were: everything was about temples! Honor the covenants and ordinances you make, we are all children of God and his arms are extended toward us all we have to do is come unto Him.  The first great truth is that God loves us with all his might, mind, and strength, and so we must love him in the same way. We never have to ask again, where are the Priesthood Keys- eternal families are possible because of the priesthood.  We should follow the example of Paul and see people how they could become, not how they are. We should have family counsel and open our doors! The sacrament brings safety and security, and that Satan doesn´t want us to progress because HE CAN`T.  There´s a lot more, but I don´t have enough time!  I watched it in Portuguese so I hope that´s what they said lol. 

OH also- the choir from BYUI that sang Saturday afternoon was my choir. Sister Ashby was my choir conductor who was conducting and I saw all my friends! Shout out to Lein, Matt, Edward and a ton more! I´m so proud of them and wish I could have sang with them, but being in Recife is a little more important to me. ;)

I love you and miss you all and am so grateful for your emails, letters, packages, and prayers! I know this church is true.  I´m not wasting my time here.  This gospel is true.  Read the Book of Mormon always as if it was the first time, always look to be better and strive to be like Christ.  He is our Savior. He is on our side.  He knows how you feel.  May we strive to be like one of our investigators here who literally cried because he got sick and couldn´t go to the chapel to hear the words of the prophet.  When you know the gospel is true, share it.   Give God your best and he will make up the rest.  

Com muito amor,

Sister Garrick 

 It´s hard to write in one language. Also, don´t judge my grammar- it´s the mission.;)

                                                                 Our conference lunch

                    (I was missing my mom´s raspberry rolls and dad´s eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon!)

 P-day- we made some nice churrasco

(Note from Sister Garrick's mom: For some reason the last picture didn't load fully, but I got the following picture from Elder DeCook's mom from that day)