100 More Days!

Dear Family!!!

Well, This week has just FLOWN by!! A lot has happened so I will try to sum it up the best that I can. We started to teach a guy named Felipe. And the lesson was awesome. The spirit was really strong and  I know that he felt that. We are preparing him for baptism right now. We want him to be baptized on the 29th of November! If he keeps going like he is going now, I am pretty sure that he will serve a mission!!

This past week our stake put on the huge activity. They had all of this free stuff to offer. Like free hair cuts, counseling, health advice, you name it and they had it! It was really cool. As missionaries we were told about it the night before and that we were just to show up and help the people that were there. It was meant to have a ton of people there, but in reality, none of the members invited their friends so hardly anyone showed up. So, our job turned into going and talking to everyone in the streets that we could find and inviting them to the activity. Not a ton of success. I was thinking about how sad it was though. A ton of people put in all this work, and there was not a ton of success simply because members didn´t invite their friends.

Things are progressing well with our investigators for the most part. This week we will start to teach two new people who came to church. They are super open! We are hoping that they will be baptized soon. Their names our Rodrigo and Evans.

This week I have become convinced that I can control the weather through my actions. If I forgot to bring an umbrella with me, without a doubt we will receive a TON of rain, even if it doesn´t look like it will rain in the morning. If I forget to put on sunscreen, without a doubt it will be a hot, sunny day. I guess that as missionaries we are given many gifts and talents. I´ll be interested to see if this gift sticks with me when I come home!

Oh, by the way. Did you realize that today I have exactly 100 days more on my mission!!! And then, after that I will be coming home!! Yeah, I am excited!! I am excited for the work that I can do here, for how much better I can learn Portuguese, and then when the time is up, to see you all! 

Sister Beth Spencer

And Life Continues!

Dear Family!!! 

Well I am so excited to email!! This week has been pretty normal... full of ups and downs. I´ll fill ya in a bit with things that have happened with our investigators! 

Almir was confirmed on Sunday and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost! I am SUPER excited! I know that Almir will stay true to the things that we have taught him. He is still reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and doing all of the small things! It is Awesome!!! 

Visited Josey and Nelsey this week. That was sure interesting. Nelsey pretty much told us that she already knew everything that we were saying and didn´t think that the Book of Mormon could add anything to the extensive knowledge that she already has. We bore our testimonies and invited her to read the book and promissed her that it would change her life. She asked us right then to show her something in the book that would change her life. Long story short, She isn´t open. Her husband is open however, but I am not quite sure how to handle the situation. We´ll see what happens! 

Found a new investigator this week-- Alexandre. He has a baptismal date for 29 of November. I am not quite sure if he is truly interested in the message. He kept commenting on how blue our eyes were. The next visit we have with him, we will decide what we want to do. 

Pretty sure we are going to have to drop Ivan. He´s not really progressing. Ugh. It´s lame, but we gotta find the peole who are truly ready. 

Other than that, other things: 

This past week I was walking down the street under some trees. i felt something land on my head. Didn´t really think much of it. Leafs fall on our heads all the time. I went to brush it off and it was wet, slimy, gross, bloody bird poop. Disgusting. So gross. I didn´t give my companion an option, we returned to our apartment super fast so that I could get it out of my hair. Needless to say, I have been avoiding the trees that have a ton of birds in them. 

Funny thing: In Brazil it is really cool to speak English and to wear t-shirts that have english words or phrases on them... however, most of the time, people don´t always know what they say... so they are quite hilarious. Here are a few of the ones that we´ve seen: 

-Look out, Floor ahead

-Im an 60´s star

-Gils from space (with 3 lovely pineapples stamped on as well)

-I need someone

-you´re not good you´re super

-I get my looks from mum

-nice guys finish last

-your girlfriend hates my alarm clock

All day long we walk in the sun, so in turn it makes our hair a bit lighter. Well, in the case of my hair, it has made the red in my hair come out... a LOT! like, I am pretty much a red-head now. Everyone comments on my blue eyes and red hair... :-P

The language is coming along REALLY well. the Lord is really helping me out. Each week I can see a difference in my ability to speak. I feel so VERY blessed!! Thank you so much for all of your prayers!! 

Sister Spencer

The Work Progresses :)

Dear Familia!

Puxa! This week has sure been full of things! I don´t even know where to start!

I´ll start with our investigators first. Almir was baptized yesterday! It turned out really well! A lot of the ward members showed up to support him. I know that he will be such a strong member in the church!! He was reading in 2nd Nephi the other day in the Isaiah chapters and didn´t understand them so he decided to start them over again. We were talking to him the other day and he mentioned how he was just loving the Isaiah chapters. Can´t say that I know too many people who would say that, so way to go for him!!! 

We found a new investigator this week named Véra! She had missionaries come over in the past, but didn´t really understand the Book of Mormon and thought that we worshipped Joseph Smith. We taught her the message of the Restoration and she understood everything really well! She agreed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon to find out if it is true... and if it is true, she will be baptized!!!! Sad thing though is that she will be out of town for a week or so. Why do people need to take vacations anyways?? jk!

I gave a talk on Sunday in church! i think it went over pretty well. I felt like I said what I was supposed to. I thought it was sort of funny though, all of the speakers after me cried in their talks, and I´m not really that much of a crier. All is good though! People said that they could understand what I said and that I am improving quite a bit in Portuguese! i feel like the Lord is helping me out so much with this language! I feel so blessed!! 

The strength of the members in this ward always inspires me. There is this lady who is married to a man who is anti-mormon. Her marriage isn´t the best, her and her husband get in fights a lot, and he is constantly bashing her for what she believes. Yet, every Sunday, she gets ready and brings herself and her daughter to church regardless of all of the rude comments and other things that happen to her. I was thinking about all of the small things that this member does to keep her testimony strong. Putting myself in her shoes, I imagine that she receives a LOT of strength from the Lord through reading her scriptures, praying, going to church, and doing the small things to have the spirit  with her. 

 Other than investigators, the next biggest thing that happened is that I got a letter from one of our investigators. He pretty much said that he wanted to marry me. I think he was a bit nervous that I wouldn´t understand the Portugues, so he wrote it in English and Portuguese for me.... oh man. It blindsided Sister Mitchell and I... both of us did not pick up on this one tiny bit. I had to tell him that as missionaries, we need to focus ALL of our time on the Lord. Goodness, how awkward!!! Things are all better though and he knows why we are there. 

Love you all TONS!!!