DOUBLE RAINBOW

DOUBLE RAINBOW

This week was really up and down, in respect to the hills we climbed and the emotions we felt. After the merger of our two wards here and losing part of our area to the Elders, we basically started from scratch again this week. Ì was oft reminded of the lyrics to a beloved primary song, "Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked and walked." One day we did nothing but knock doors and talk to people, and I made 100+ contacts that day and wow, do I never want to do that again haha. Another day we planned a HUGE day, and marked to visit almost 20 people, and out of those 20 we had 1 lesson. That´s O-N-E for those of you that missed it. That being said I learned a lot about hope and about timing this week.

We've been teaching an investigator, Angelica, for the past few weeks, and she´s been doing great and loving the lessons and loving church and was right on track to be baptized this week. But (there´s always a but isn´t there), this week she stopped answering our calls and after walking 40 minutes there on various occasions, all of our appointments with her fell through. BUT, that´s when the Lord stepped in as well. After the 1st appointment fell through we felt like we should try to visit a man we taught our first week in RP and had never been able to teach afterwards, and guess who just so happened to finally be at home?? Alexandre!!! We had a seriously awesome lesson with him and he told us "Yeah, I'll pray, but I already believe that Joseph Smith had a vision, because all things are possible through God and he answers us when we have faith. "I almost fell out of my chair out of happiness (and shock) though the chair was a little precarious to begin with.

 A few days later we trekked through the rain to visit Angelica again and go to an activity together, but she was sick and didn't want to go. As we went to descend the mini mountain on which she lives and start our journey back to civilization, pretty bummed out, I happened to look up because the rain had stopped, and there in the sky was the biggest, brightest DOUBLE RAINBOW I ever did see, and I got so excited and pointed and pretty much yelled "SISTER BENNALLACK, DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!" After having my happiness and vigor restored, I thought about the rainbow and about our lesson with Alexandre and how if Angelica hadn't cancelled on us, we never would've had those experiences.
 I´m reminded of a scripture about Ammon and his brethren, after they did their best but all their plans fell through: Alma 26:27 "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."  Heavenly Father really does have a perfect plan for each and every one of us and it truly is a plan of HAPPINESS. He provides for us in our moments of need and sustains us as we persevere through the ups and downs (figurative and literal) of our lives.As we perform His work, in HIs time, we will have success. I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week full of hope and remember that we have to work today to have a better tomorrow!

Love,
Sister Curtis

Ribeirão Pires: Round 2!!!

Ribeirão Pires: Round 2!!!

We had transfers yesterday night and I'm staying here with Sister Bennallack (and pretty much the rest of my entire zone) for another transfer!!! WOO HOO!!! I can't say that I'm super surprised because we were all new here, and Sister B. and I have been pestering President Broadbent about staying here together for like the last 3 weeks. I got a little nervous because all our Elders and Zone Leaders kept saying that I was gonna train as soon as I finished my own trainamento (aka the first 2 transfers in the field), but thankfully Papai Broadbent came in clutch yet again.

Summer has officially ended here in Brazil and that means that it´s still gonna be hot but with more rain and less daylight hours. Awesome. The good news is that we get to continue teaching all of our investigators even though most of them are currently out of our ward boundaries. One of them is Angelica and she is incredible! We've been teaching her in the home of a member lately, and we were walking over to the Irmã´s house with her the other day, and she was telling us how her arms were hurting and how her extremities just hurt sometimes for no reason and it was really hard for her. After we arrived and taught about the Restoration we asked her how she felt, and she said she felt so light and that she didn't know why, but that her arms had stopped hurting. And I was like Umm I KNOW WHYYY!! #EspiritoSanto. (Except not exactly in those words). And she´s also already gone to church twice and loved it even though it´s really far and complicated now because she has to go to the stake center! I'm so excited to keep teaching her and get her down into those águas de batismo!

Love you guys lots and keep on keeping on!

Sister Curtis

Vegemite Toast

February 15, 2016

Vegemite Toast

This week was the weirdest week of my mission thus far, hands down.  It was also a Jeremiah 4:19 kinda week for our entire household. Here´s a story that illustrates why: We had a lunch appointment yesterday and ate until rice and beans were coming out of our noses. Then the irmã asked us if we wanted ice cream, and when the irmãs here ask if you want dessert they don't actually care if you want it or not, you´re gonna eat what they give you. So we plowed through a bowl of ice cream, and just when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, she pulled out a cake from the fridge and plopped a plateful in front of us, watching expectantly as we force fed ourselves what we were given. It´s a hard-knock life being a missionary in Brazil.

Also our ward has been merged with the ward of the other Sisters here, pretty much out of nowhere, and the area where we work the most and have 6 investigators is now in the stake center in the next city over. For now we will continue working there but I don't know what´s to come. I´m gonna be bummed beyond belief if we have to hand them all over to the Elders after transfers next week.

Also I tried vegemite this week and it´s surprisingly delicious, thanks Sister B.!

Love you guys lots and guarda a fé!!

Sister Curtis

[More Than] 17 Miracles

[More Than] 17 Miracles

Wow wow wow, I could spend all day writing this email and still not cover all of the incredible things that happened this week, but I'm gonna do my best to squeeze in as many of the miracles that we experienced this week as I can.

First off, I had my FIRST BAPTISM THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!! Her name is Isabelle; she´s 15 and the daughter of a recent convert, Alice. Isabelle´s been coming to church all on her own for a month, but we just met her last Sunday. Almost every day this week we walked an hour to her house to teach her because she accepted to be baptized Saturday during our very first lesson with her! The Lord truly prepared her already because all we had to do was teach her and ask her to read and pray, and Heavenly Father did all the rest. Because of many complicated reasons, her baptism was at the stake in another town, so we set out and walked for nearly 2 hours (without getting lost) to arrive there, but it was all worth it. Isabelle was glowing when she came up out of the water, and the spirit was so strong and she hugged us and told us how happy she felt, and I was like "Me too!!!"

Secondly, I had one of the most special, incredible experiences of my whole life. Sister Bennallack and I have been teaching this sweet older woman, Marina, since almost the first week we arrived in Ribeirão Pires. Marina is really really kind and caring and has a grown daughter that was in a really bad accident and can´t speak or do many things for herself, and Marina takes care of her pretty much full-time. I always feel such a sweet spirit when we´re there. This week we made a surprise visit there, and Marina and her daughter met us at the door and invited us to teach in the part of the house where the daughter lives. We were teaching the restoration and everything was going normally until we started talking about Joseph Smith. The second Sister B. started testifying about the first vision, the spirit flooded the room. I took out a Book of Mormon, and with tears spilling down my cheeks, barely able to speak, I testified that it is the word of God, that it testifies of Christ and the Love he has for each one of us.

I was completely overcome, my heart full to overflowing, as I looked at Marina´s daughter, a beautiful special daughter of our Heavenly Father, in front of me--holding a bib to her mouth because she can´t control her salivation, unable to speak, but with eyes full of understanding. I testified to her that you don't need to be able to speak to pray, that God hears and answers every sincere prayer of our heart. Her eyes began to fill with tears and she nodded fervently. I continued to cry with her, holding her gaze, and testified that she is a very precious daughter of God and that He loves her so much and that we love her too. Sister B. told her that she didn't know why we have trials that are so hard and frustrating and that just seem unfair, but that Heavenly Father really does love her and would help her through hers.

As we were getting up to go she stood up too and and hugged me with everything that she had, and conveyed to me more sincerely and clearly than any words could say that we had said exactly what she had needed to hear, that she understood every word and was grateful. I can´t explain in words the sheer love I felt for her in that moment; I only know to say that it was greater than me or any feeling that I´m able to conjure up. I got to feel just a little piece of the pure love that the Lord has for each and every one of us, an infinite love. A love so powerful that our Heavenly Father gave up everything that was precious to Him, allowed his perfect Son to come here and be mocked, humiliated, suffer beyond what we can even begin to imagine, and be lifted up on the cross so that He could then lift us up. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He loves each and every one of us individually, that He knows our every pain and heartache, and that He is waiting for us to reach out to Him so that He can comfort us and help us bear our burdens. I love you all and hope that each one of you try to recognize the little miracles this week, the little signs of the Lord´s love for you, a precious son or daughter of the Most High God.

com muito amor,

Sister Curtis