October 14, 2013

Week 10 (14 October 2013)

We have a lot of wonderful investigators who are seeking the truth, and guess what, WE HAVE IT!  The hardest part so far is getting them to church on Sunday.  We have many people wanting to be baptized and learn more about the Gospel, but if they aren't going to church they technically aren't progressing, so that has been a little frustrating, but all in the Lord's timing.

Okay, to answer your questions . . .

-Water bottles: all of the houses have filters, the one in our apartment is one of the best they have around, so the Mission President is looking out for us, don't worry.  I don't drink the water except the water from our apartment in a water bottle that I always have with me.

-Exercise:  My companion and I both want to lose weight, so we do abs, cardio, and strength building exercises every morning and at night if we aren't already dead from scaling the hills of Panambi.

-Scripture Study:  One hour of personal scripture study every morning is not nearly enough... Every day I read my patriarchal blessing, read the Book of Mormon in English for about 20 minutes, read ) Livro de Mormon for 30 minutes, and then study either Pregar Meu Evangelho or General Conference talks.  I am trying to figure-out the best method for learning, but the trick is to be thinking about my investigators the entire time.

-Sundays:  I love Sundays!  We had 24 people in church this week!  Wahoo!  Our goal is to get 50 by December, so we have a lot of work to do, but I am so ready.  We have Sunday School combined first as people trickle in, then we split into classes.  There is a class for new members and investigators, which is usually most of the congregation and then the normal adult Sunday School class.  We don't have many youth or kids, but that should change soon.  Do you remember that story that Thomas S. Monson told about the branch in Canada?  How they had to build it up slowly with great faith in order to get a chapel?  Well, that story is Panambi.  I love it here.  The members and even the less-actives are wonderful!  They have such strong testimonies and sometimes just need that little extra boost to get back on the right track.

-My area:  I am not sure how large our area is, but from our house to one end is 40 minutes walking, and the other is a little more than that, and of course our investigators that are the most ready live as far from us as possible on different sides of the map.  Haha.  I am going to get a lot of sun and exercise in Panambi.

-What do I eat?:  Everything.  In our house I try to only eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.  It is hard but I really want to be as healthy as possible as I do this work for the Lord.  For lunch at member's houses we have rice, black beans, vegetables, and some type of pudding like dessert.  It is all good, so it is easy to overeat, but watching portions and eating slowly is the way to go.

Thank you! I love you so much! You are always in my prayers!
-Sister Phelps

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