March 3, 2014

Oi Familia!

Carnival started this week, so there has been a lot of music, dancing, and drinking later in the evening.  Our area is safe, but President has asked missionaries in other areas in our zone to be in their houses by 7 p.m. because of the partying.  But, all is well.

I taught my second English class on Saturday.  After Sister Johnson left this week, I am the only English-speaking teacher for the Advanced English class.  I have 7 students.  This week I taught about being friendly and helpful.  In all actuality, I pretty much taught my students how to be polite, not just in words but in facial expressions and the way you talk to other people.  There was a lot of roleplaying involved.  I made up role plays where I was polite and where I wasn't and asked them to tell me what they thought and what they noticed in the way I spoke (ex. slowly or quickly, bluntly or kindly, etc.), what words I used (e.g.,"What do you want?" vs. "How can I help you?"), and in my body language (ex. looking people in the eye, walking towards them, smiling, etc.)  They all had a good time and told me that they really enjoyed my classes and thought this year would be better than last year.  They also ended up asking me a lot of questions about my life in China and in the US and asked me to compare Brazil to each of these.  I told them that I thought China was more like Brazil than like the US, which surprised them a little bit.  They all see China as a great developed, strong country that makes everything in the world.

Our baptism this week fell through because we were not able to speak with Everton's parents, but we had a great lesson with him and he didn't laugh at my Portuguese this time.  This week we taught him about the Plan of Salvation.  When we explained the three Kingdoms of Glory, we told him what kind of people would go to each of the kingdoms and then we did a recap and asked him if he remembered who would go to the Celestial Kingdom, he immediately said, "Eu!" ("Me!")  We all had a good laugh.  Later I spoke with Everton a little bit about the role of the Holy Ghost and talked with him about how I feel when I feel the Spirit.  I told him that when I feel the Spirit, I often feel warm in my heart.  He thought about this for a moment and then said, "mmm....bebe agua!"  ("mmm...drink water!")  We all thought that was pretty funny too.  Such a cute, innocent little boy. We hope to talk to his mother and father this week and ask them if he can have permission to be baptized next Saturday.  It may be hard to find his dad though, seeing that it is Carnival and his Dad drinks a lot!  Including Everton, we have four baptisms scheduled for this upcoming weekend.  The field is whiter than white here!

The other day, I was reading in "O Livro De Mormon" and I found a scripture that I really liked in 2 Nephi 26:23-25.  I only have the Portuguese scriptures, but it basically says that the Lord does nothing save it be for the benefit of the world because He loves the world to the point where He gave his life for all mankind. He doesn’t keep salvation from anyone and instead says, "Come unto me.  Come buy milk and honey without money without price."  Our loving Father in Heaven offers salvation freely to all who come unto Him.  I am serving today as a representative of Christ, a Sister Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to invite others to come unto Christ and help them find their way to that strait and narrow path "da Fé em Jesus Cristo, do arrependimento, do batismo, de se recebero o dom do Espírito Santo, e de perseverar até of fim." (Faith in Christ, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end)

Amo Vocês!

Sister Dyer