Oh Say What is True

My week in pictures:

monday- travelled to Juiz de Fora for our zone conference. One elder got transferred so no, those are not our overnight bags... though some sisters are crazy like that.

(but her mom secretly loves that she travels with her little pillow!)

tuesday- conference! We met with 2 other zones and President Cascardi. President held a really great conference with lots of words I needed to hear.  I'm always grateful to hear from President who holds the keys to guide us in the work!

Wednesday- Back to work we go. This is in one of the bairros we work in every week. It's quite hilly.

Thursday- work day! We worked so mucht hat we forgot to take a picture. Here's our excited-for-bed faces.

Friday- We found a new fruit! Well an investigator gave us them from her backyard...which looks like a  rainforest! Sister A had never seen this fruit either so it was something new to the both of us. It's a cute little yellow fruit called Abiu that grows on trees. Its very sweet and one of my favorite fruits I've had in Brasil.. unfortunately you can't buy it in markets. It's just a fruit you find or grow. Not really sure why. The most fun part about this fruit is that it glues your lips. It's not very strong, but it's fun and you just pass butter on your lips to dissolve the stickiness. Cool, huh?

Saturday- bike ride in the park. As we talked to some families in the park we found these cool bikes. They only appear here on the weekends and they're tons of fun! If the sidewalks in New Hope were bigger, these would be perfect!

Sunday- We went on a team up with one of our young women and had lots of fun. She won lots of goodies from our apartment as there are always things to give away.

And that's that! Week filled of fun. Always doing something different.

Before I sign off I'll tell you of a revelation I had while reading the Book of Mormon this week. Well not quite revelation, but you'll see. 

I was studying the story of the prophet Abinadi who defended his belief of God until he was burned to death by a wicked king and his people. Abinadi suffered more than I imagine the scriptures express. Of all his efforts, only one man was converted- just one. His name was Alma. Abinadi maybe never knew about Alma's conversion, maybe Abinadi thought his efforts in that wicked city would never produce fruits. Later in the Book of Mormon we learn more about Alma who became one of the biggest prophets and leaders in the entire book. He ended up converting whole tribes and kingdoms and established churches in many cities. He then had a son who did the same. 

Talk about fruits! But what it comes down to is Abinadi who stood up for his faith, which converted the one soul. It reminds me of a sciptures in Doctrine and covenants "And now if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

Abinadi brought Alma! I can imagine the joy he had with God after his death. Fun fact- in Portguese, the word "alma" means "soul"....Cool right? It's up to us to be strong like Abinadi to set the example of righteousness. In doing so, God will place one like Alma in our path. He will place that one soul which is not just any soul, but one like Alma who will lead many into the kingdom. An "alma" who will become a great leader and fisher of men. 

But first, it begins with our defense of the truth. 

Love you all! Have a good week!

Sister Hawkins

Be Joyful, No Matter What

Pictures pictures pictures! The pictures will tell you all the ups and downs of the week. Well not all. I realize that these photos don't quite show exactly what we do. We only take pictures when we are waiting for the onibus or back at the apartment or as we're walking. You won't actually get to see us talking to people in the streets or teaching lessons... which is what we spend most of our time doing. BUT at least you get to follow along the adventure in between. 

Missionary life is awesome. It's full of lots of happy things. Many people wish they could have the opportunity to live mission life... at least for a day, right? Why? Well you feel spiritually connected and edified with the Spirit. You focus on what's really important in life and you find that God really knows you specifically. You learn new skills and develop your knowledge of the Gospel and the scriptures. You become more of the person God designed you to be!

Most people think, wow! God must really bless those missionaries and pave the way for them. Sometimes people think that we're not real people because we live this way. But I think people forget that life is still life! We also face unfortunate everyday challenges just like everyone else.

For example...

sometimes an old man photobombs your ice cream selfie.

and sometimes you drop your spoon onto your neighbors roof. (missing pic!)

sometimes you can't even open your eyes for a picture at the end of the day

sometimes your companion attacks your face with Brasilian chocolate

And sometimes it rains so much that it's better to stay outside than drench everything you touch inside

And sometimes you step on chewed up gum that someone so thoughtfully placed on the ground. 

These things could happen to anyone.. missionary or not. Crazy life still goes on. It still follows me like I'm a black cat or a broken mirror. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I was born on the 13th. who knows! 

What I've been learning though, especially on the mission, is that these things are just a normal part of life and the best way to handle them is to smile. and find the positive!

At least I could snap another picture without the creepy old man.

 

At least i got the spoon off the roof to sterilize and eat lime mousse my companion made and the Sister Training Leaders for my 14th month mark. 

At least we worked so hard that I couldn't open my eyes for a picture at the end of the day! At least I got to eat Brasilian chocolate and then attack my companion back! 

At least it rained! It hasn't rained for almost a month!! And the gum... well.. I'm not sure... at least it wasn't two pieces of gum?

I know these situations are kind of ridiculous but they often leave us frustrated. No one likes stepping in gum or walking around in wet clothes all day! But in the midst of annoyances, there is joy. I think my friend Neal A. Maxwell sums this one up pretty well:

"Though our trials are tiny compared to His, alas, we are often grumpy. Jesus was of good cheer because then current conditions did not altar His sources of ultimate joy. Are not our fundamental sources of joy the same as His?"

So with that,  be joyful! No matter what life hits you with. 

I'm off! Till the next time!

Sister Hawkins

Our Own Christmas Miracle

So this week was quite the unusual week. I think it was yesterday that we all chatted so that means I don't have to write this week, right? Just kidding, I have a few little Christmas miracles to share-don't you worry! 

First I want to say that I LOVE MY FAMILY! Goodness I miss you all so dang much. It was awesome to see and talk to you on Christmas day. OF course it was too short--but don't worry, so is my time I have left!

I had an awesome Christmas!! We witnessed so many miracles and honestly I don't think I have time to write them all. So, I'll share my favorite that happened the day of Christmas Eve. 

The day started off on the wrong side of the bed. Our alarm didn't go off and unfortunately Sister Oliveira and I slept in an extra 30 minutes. AH. How terribly we felt! Who knew that 30 minutes more would kill you. The whole morning was a struggle after that. I almost fell asleep in personal study and during our companion study we both expressed how there was no excitement for the day ahead. Both of us were in the lows and as we set out it was obvious that we were struggling to find motivation. I remember even worrying that I'd fall asleep as I walked. 

About 2 in the afternoon, hot, sweaty, thirsty, hungry and even more discouraged due to the mountain we were about to climb, we decided to take a break to catch our breath. We found a spot on some steps in the shade and we plopped right on down. I sat with my head in my hands due to the sun-provoked headache I had while Sister Oliveira pulled out the phone. She started to scroll through some pictures we'd taken and in the midst she found a story of a Christmas miracles someone had sent to her. It read of a missionary in Russia who succeeded in uplifting hundreds of people in a train station, even with the terrible weather conditions and depressing times. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Sister Oliveira turned to me and said, "I want a Christmas miracle". I couldn't deny that I wanted just the same. The slump we were in wasn't helping the fact that I was miles and miles away from those I so desperately wanted to spend Christmas with. We needed something and quick as it was already the day of Christmas eve. Thinking of what I love most at Christmas I thought of the Christmas hymns I had in my pocket sized hymn book. I mentioned the idea to Sister Oliveira and we decided then that we would sing a Christmas hymn for as many that would allow us. 

Excited, and full of renewed energy, we practically ran up the mountain to find someone to sing and uplift. We found two women outside and approached them. They first told us that they already belonged to another church and when we asked if we could sing, they looked at each other and made funny faces. You have to know that Brasil, they don't do caroling. At least it's not a normal thing. We decided to sing anyway. As we sung I concentrated so much on the words and singing correctly that when we finished and I looked up, I realized both of these women had tears running down their cheeks. It hit me too as I bore testimony of what we do and of the message of Christ we share. Tears were welling within my own eyes from the Spirit that so peacefully testified of truth. These women then accepted the invitation we had to come back and teach them more.

We went on from person to person, door to door, singing and watching the Spirit fill their hearts... and eyes with tears! We sang in restaurants and ice cream shops that were opened late on Christmas Eve. We visited hospitals with patients and families that had to spend the holidays in a hospital bed. We sang and testified until we ran out of the stacks of pamphlets, pass-along cards and Books of Mormon in our bags. 

Our hearts grew 3 sizes that day, just like the Grinch!

We left each happy and uplifted and to our surprise, WE were even more happy and uplifted. The drastic change from morning to the time we returned home was as different as night and day. Heavenly Father, He knew what we needed to inspire us so that we could go inspire others. Maybe we didn't inspire hundreds all at one time- but as we kept track of those we taught and sang too, we found that in about 4 days, we talked to well over 200 people and taught more lessons than we've ever taught in an entire week since I've been here in Muriae. 

And just like that, the Lord provided us with our own Christmas miracle... and a Christmas I will never forget! 

Love,

Sister Hawkins

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!