Please tell me she did not sing all too well 10 minute version 😭

 Bom dia! 

I don't even know where to start!! So I'm just gonna start writing!!

It has been wayyyy too long since my last Sister Cordner and Sister Cornell fix. 

Guys not gonna lie to you. The Taylor Swift concert is making me more trunky than literal Christmas. There'll be pleeenty of Christmases, but are we kidding?? The Eras tour?? Swift City??? 44 songs in her set list??? (One of our friends we are teaching is a fellow Taylor Swift lover and she is haaaappy to give me all the details ) When she opened her Reputation tour in Swift City we were living in Brazil. and then with her Lover summer festival thingy there was covid. and now here we are  One day I'll make it to one of her concerts and theeeen I'll be happy. 

This week has a been a test of my patience with moderating the facebook page of the mission.  It's time I retire. 

You know miracle facebook man? We officially have stopped teaching him. SAD DAY! On Tuesday we held a funeral for him and Sister Smith sang taps. Some Sisters in the future will be so happy to find him one day chilling in our area book. 

We had zone conference on Wednesday!!! I love zone conference!!! Wow it was so inspired. Everything President and Sister Barcellos taught, all of the trainings, everything. I feel like everything I've been studying and pondering recently, all came together it was so amazing. 

The Sister AP's gave this amazing training on the New Everlasting Covenant and wow it had me in tears. They helped remind me of how much I love love love my covenants. and how much I need need need to invite people to make them!! I want to include the quote they shared because  Sorry I can't find it in english but you guys know portuguese então. 

"Porque as pessoas não convidam na primeira lição? Deixe-me ser direto; apenas convidamos aqueles que estão...dispostos? Com qual poder pessoas sobrepujarão obstáculos? O que, ao não as convidar a fazer alguma ordenança, estás a negá-las a expiação. Eu não sei se eu quero estar na frente do Senhor e dizer, "Eeeh, aquele não ia aceitar. Aquele Seu filho não ia conseguir." Eu não vou fazer isso. Missionários que entendem seu propósito entendem que o mundo não tem acesso à graca e salvação, exceto através deles e da igreja a qual eles representam." (The Donaldson Papers)

Presidente gave a training on how we as a mission are going to start using family history more to find new friends to teach! He gave lots of stats, but he said that last year in Portugal, 50,654 new accounts of Family Search were made, and that 99.5% of those accounts aren't members! Isn't that insane! I am actually suuuper excited. As President was talking I just knew that this was pure revelation. I'm so excited to see how these new efforts take off and see how it goes. 

I know I say this about every interview with this President, but it was soooo good ugh. Him and Sister Barcellos just beam and are just so full of love. He gave me such good advice on having better personal studies and on how I can be a better missionary, a better senior comp, it was so good. I also learned that we both share a love for and have a dependency on coca-cola. 

Zone conferences are so fun because they also are like little Christmases where I get all of these surprise packages. I'm so grateful mom 

At church this week this member came up to us and said, "I was on the bus and I saw you guys talking to a guy sitting on a bench and I was happy because you guys actually work!"  Ya!  We do! 

We had a lesson with Danilo this week that was so good. Danilo is getting baptized next week!! and during this lesson we actually taught him about temples and family history. Danilo's brother recently passed away, that was actually the first thing he told us in his first lesson with us. and it has been suuuuch a blessing for me to be able to teach him about the plan of salvation and to see him find so much peace in knowing this perfect plan.  We were explaining that once Danilo is baptized, he can take his brother's name to the temple to perform his baptism on his behalf. I just started crying writing this because even thinking about this lesson, the Spirit was so powerful. We told Danilo, that just like how he is learning about the gospel right now and feeling this peace, his brother is too, in the Spirit World. Sitting in that lesson, with the Spirit so strong, I just knew Danilo's brother is accepting the gospel, and I felt like I got a glimpse into what it must be like for him. Guys wow I literally do not have the words. This plan is so perfect.  

We also had a lesson with Venkatesh (our new recent convert!!!) and this man is so precious. Before we even started our lesson or anything, he said, (And imagine this coming from a 30 year old indian man with a really thick accent) "Sisters, you know how you taught me about my money? I'm going to bring my money to church on Sunday! I want to help the church! I want to help build temples!!" It was the cuuutest thing ever. He then went on and on about how he is seeing all of the blessings in his life because of his baptism and the decisions he is making. Break my tiny little heart. 

This week will be the baptism of Danilo and Cristina!! I'M SO EXCITED YOU GUYS. It's so stressful because no one has cars and everyone has to take the train to the members house with the pool because we don't have a baptismal font but then her house is far from the train station so we have to arrange rides from the train station to her house and also we don't have enough baptismal clothes so I don't know what we're gonna do about that but que FELIZ!!!! The best kind of problems to have!! The end of the transfer is nearing and so I'm just trying to do the best I can to work hard até o fim 

Sister Menden

Pics!

- We went to the beach on pday last week with the elders!!!

- but then!! On Tuesday they told us they had covid!!! So looong story short we were able to go to zone conference but Sister barcellos asked that we wear masks.

- zone conference!

- We are currently teaching one portuguese person right now and she invited us over for dinner!! along with one of the  members!! we had bacalhau and it was bomb. so cutie of her to invite us over. 

- For a relief society activity we celebrated it's birthday and here is the cake! lol we even not sarcastically sang the happy birthday song i thought it was hilarious. 

- A picture of us doing street contacts with irma Nelly in the park!!