Week 70 (15 December 2014)

I got here with Sister A~, we stayed one month and we are both being transferred because there will be Elder'd here now [Elders will be teaching in that area of the mission instead of Sister missionaries] . . . haha.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.

This is my last p-day [preparation day] until Christmas (because next week p-day is Christmas).

Well, I love you!  Have a great week and SEE you soon!  [We get to skype with Sister Phelps on Christmas day!]

Week 69 (8 December 2014)

Uruguay is super cool!  The first time we went we ran into Elders and they got weirded out because we are "sisters" and not hermanas.  Haha.  They were both Americans and don't speak Portuguese so I tried speaking Spanish with them, but in the end we spoke English.  It was cool.  They also gave me El Libro de Mormon.  I've been studying it already.  :)  It is a free border so I don't need my passport to enter.  It is cool because they have American stuff (like Nerds and Pringles, etc.)

This week we had lots of ups and downs . . . here we go.

On Quarta-feira (Wednesday) Sister A~ and I decided to fast because we have to find two people to baptize before Christmas.  Until that day we only had P~ (I will get to him in a minute.)  So I made Thanksgiving dinner for lunch (because a member gave us money because they went out of town) and then we started our fast.  The first plans that we had fell trough and so we just kept walking, contacting people in the street, knocking doors, etc.  We got to the end of the street and almost turned back when we decided to clap (because here you don't knock) at one of the last houses.  We asked if we could leave a quick message about Christ and T~ let us in.  We started getting to know her and found out that she got married in the Mormon church [building] about a year ago to be baptized, but got into a disagreement with a member and decided not to be baptized.  We asked her if she still wanted to be baptized and she said yes!!!!  It was a MIRACLE!  We marked her baptism for December 20th.  She seemed super excited and everything!  When we left her house we were in shock.  Seriously, we looked like zombies probably.  The Lord had answered our fast So QUICKLY!  About an hour after we left our house we realized that we hadn't recognized the streets as we left her house a different way than we had arrived and figured out that she doesn't live in our area.  HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!?  It was super disappointing, but the Lord used two lost sisters to help one of His children be baptized.  The Elders are working with her and I hope it all goes smoothly.

So, about P~.  It has been a few weeks already that we marked his baptism for the 13th and he was super excited!  We went there on Sexta (Friday) and talked to him a lot.  He even said the closing prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the church, the opportunity that he would have to be baptized and that one day he could have the Priesthood and help prepare, pass, and bless the Sacrament.  It was super cute.  When we got there on Saturday to finalize everything with his mom, he told us that she didn't want him to be baptized anymore.  He was super sad that he wouldn't be able to go to church with us anymore, but he has to obey his mom.  It was super hard for us.  We both were trying to hold back tears as we said goodbye and walked away.  We love him so much and hope that one day he will be ready to be baptized in Christ's church.

Well, that's about it.  We are still waiting for a miracle as we put our faith in action.  Please pray that God will put two people in our path for us to baptize before Christmas.  :)

Thanks!  I love you guys and hope that you are focused on finding your own "golden investigators."  It could be a friend at work, school, a person that you have seen a few times and they seemed a little interested in the church, a neighbor, etc.  Pray that you can find the people who God has prepared for you and then introduce them to the missionaries!  It is the best Christmas gift that you could give them, the missionaries, yourself, and Heavenly Father.

Sei que a igreja e verdadeira.  Sei que Cristo vive e que Ele nos ama.  Amo ser missionario.  Em nome de Jesus Cristo, Amem.

Love,
Sister Phelps

Week 68 (1 December 2014)

This week was super hard.  ALL of our plans fell through.  I am not exaggerating.  EVERYTHING that we planned this week fell through.  It was a week of trials.  We worked and walked and walked and worked, but it didn't seem like anything was coming from it.  Hopefully we will see the blessings that will come from our diligence and obedience this week.  The Lord knows what he's doing.  Luckily we were able to go out with a young woman yesterday and had a wonderful lesson with a girl names L~.  She seemed to be interested in the Plan of Salvation and had already read the first few pages of the pamphlet that we had left with her when we made the first contact at a bus stop a few days earlier.

The other part that isn't going according to plan is that I am a bit under the weather, but with Sister P~'s many tricks to be healthy it shouldn't last very long.  I am loving my companion and we are still getting along super great.  We are also going to decorate a little for Christmas (Natal!) today!  I am super pumped.  :)

Well I love you all and want to wish you a Merry December!  This month will be full of miracles.  I can feel it already.

Com muito amor!
-Sister Phelps

Thanksgiving Dinner

Week 67 (24 November 2014)

This week . . .

I am great and Sister A~ says that I read super well in Spanish.  I barely have an accent!!!  Hehe.  But I need to learn vocabulary now.  I am loving Livremento, it's not super easy here, but it's great!

We went to Uruguay last week and will go again today.  I am excited because they have American food there so I will buy some things for Thanksgiving.  Wahoo!

Right now Sister A~ and I are teaching lots of great people, but had a difficult week being able to actually teach them.  Either no one was at home, or they wanted to mark another day and everyone wanted "semana que vem" . . . next week.  At least that means we have a lot of plans for this week, but we still have a lot of work to do in Livramento before Christmas.  Our mission did a special fast on the 16th so that each missionary in our mission can bring one soul unto Christ through baptism before Christmas.  We have a few young men who we are teaching (more like boys) who have the desire to be baptized but have to go to church more and be actively involved in the conversion process.  If someone isn't excited about going to church before they are baptized they probably won't be any more excited after the baptism.  We have lots of work to do, but it's all good.  It is called Missionary WORK after all.  :)

We are also working a lot with less-actives and are having lots of success.  There are many people here who are just waiting to be invited to come back and feel the love that they felt when they first were baptized.

I love being a missionary and feeling the Spirit and helping others discover how wonderful our life can be if we keep the commandments and live in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father.  The church is true.  "I know it.  I live it.  I love it."  ;)

Mosiah 2:41 "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." [in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ]

Com muito amor,
Sister Phelps

Week 66 (17 November 2014)

I didn't have time to write you about my week so I will send you what I sent to Dallin.  Have to go!  Love you lots and I am praying for you everyday!

That's wonderful that you worked your tail off this week.  It feels great, huh?  I worked a lot too because we were pink washed (I think that's the term you taught me for when you enter into an area with your companion but it was sisters before us.)  I don't know the US mission lingo yet.  One day . . . but yeah.

It's cool here in Livramento.  We are walking a lot trying to find our way around and not go into Uruguay.  Seriously there were lots of times this week that we were so lost that I thought we were in Uruguay.  Haha.  But I'm going to eat lunch there today!!  Lots of people here speak with a strong Spanish accent so I am taking advantage of that and my Peruvian companion.  That's right folks, I am learning Spanish!  I read to her every night from El Libro de Mormon.  It's pretty sweet.  We have one kid named P~ who is 10.  He wants to be baptized because he understands that he needs to follow Jesus, but his mom doesn't want to let him get baptized.  Please keep him in your prayers.  We are going to try and talk to his mom this week.  :)

I've been praying for J~ and hope that all is well up there in Las Vegas.  It is so weird to think that it is getting cooler up there, because it is getting unbearably hot down here in Brasil.  Love you kid!  Keep working hard and have a great week!

To amo!
-Sister Phelps

Week 65 (10 November 2014)

This week was great, but full of goodbyes.  I got the news that I will be transferred to Livramento and be companions with Sister A~.  (Sister L~ trained her and I will be her second companion.)  It should be fun there.  I am excited for a change and new experiences. :)

We taught A~ and her grandma.  A~ is friends with L~, a recent convert and has been going to seminary with her.  We went to her house and while we were teaching the restoration her grandma showed up and said that she felt like she needed to be there.  A~ had told her about us, what we did, how she felt during the lessons and her grandma wanted to have what she had.  We invited them both to be baptized and they accepted.  A~ also went to church on Sunday!!  Wahoo!

I love being a missionary!  It is such a wonderful time to learn, to love, and to feel the joy of living the gospel to it's fullest.

Com amor,
Sister Phelps

Week 64 (3 November 2014)

Sorry that it's been so long [since] I have written a real email about my week.  I will get better, I promise.

After H~'s baptism last weekend we have had nothing but success.  The Lord is blessing us a lot and even though it is getting SUPER HOT already.  We are working as hard as possible so that the Lord trusts us enough to put His elect in our path.

Segunda- Unfortunately we weren't able to work (spiritually) that much today, but we helped with our move and the Elder's move too.  I am positive that I gained a lot of muscle.  It was a lot of heavy lifting, but nothing I can't handle, right. :P

Terca- We finished moving (it took way longer than we wanted it to and we still have to clean EVERYTHING).  I'm excited ... not really.

Quarta- We were able to talk to H~ today and she is super happy to be a member of the church now.  Her family has already seen a difference in her attitude.  After our lesson we walked A LOT, and it was SUPER HOT.  Seriously.  We ate lots of popsicles and my tongue turned blue.  It was great!

Quinta- We taught J~ today.  Her son was baptized about a year ago and is preparing to serve a mission.  We went to talk to her not knowing much about her past and just got to know her like we usually do before we start to teach.  All of the sudden she started to ask us deep questions that we could tell she has had for a long time, about baptism, callings in the church, and all that jazz.  It was wonderful to see that she was so ready to learn more and she trusted in us so much.  We talked to M~, her son, after the lesson and he almost started to cry when he found out how it went.  I am positive that she will be baptized in November.

Sexta- We taught F~ and S~ and they are progressing a lot!

Sabado- It was raining all day, but we were able to contact a few people and taught a woman who we had contacted in the street on Wednesday.  We ran into her in the front of her house about an hour from where we had contacted her.  We taught A~ about baptism because she said that she hadn't been baptized yet.  It was a wonderful lesson.  She accepted baptism before Sister N~ finished the baptismal invitation.  It was GREAT!

Domingo- AP~ went to church.  It was great!  We taught J~ again and she told us that she wants to be baptized and we told her that her son would be able to baptize her.  She got so excited that she nearly cried.  It was a wonderful spirit there.

I love being a missionary!  Please keep my investigators in your prayers!

Com muito amor!
-Sister Phelps

Week 63 (27 October 2014)

H~ was baptized!

Week 62 (20 October 2014)

This week was interesting.  We had a ward talent show that went well and we were able to find some new people to teach which was great.  We also should have a baptism this week if everything goes well with our family home evening with H~'s mom today.  H~ is 9 and wanted to be baptized on her birthday which was last Friday, but her mom decided that she didn't want her to get baptized because of some bad things that she heard about Joseph Smith.  It reminded me of the talk that Elder Anderson gave at Conference about opposition to Joseph Smith in the Latter-days.  It's crazy that even in small town and ghettos, people know his name.  The angel Moroni knew what he was talking about, please pray for H~.  That everything will work-out with her baptism this week.  :)

Well, I am still loving Santo Angelo and my companion.  We are having a lot of fun here and have found some great people to teach.  The weather is super strange.  HOT HOT HOT and the next day it is COLD or RAINING, it is ridiculous.  Haha.  But it's all good.

Week 61 (13 October 2014)

Week 60 (6 October 2014)

Questions from General Conference... self-analysis

-Is there something in my life that could stop me from being able to receive personal revelation?
-When will I set my goal to memorize the Living Christ?
-Do I have a true desire to reach my full potential?
-Do we sometimes forget that we are on the Lord's side?
-Am I "filled with the spirit" after I take the sacrament?
-Do I imagine that the Savior is the one offering the trays of the bread and water to me in remembrance of His sacrifice?
-Am I satisfied with how I am using my agency?
-Do I help others feel comfortable and feel the spirit when they are in the chapel?
-How can I be more kind?
-Do I accept trials as a blessing?
-Do I repent daily?
-Do I use my blessings to help others avoid suffering?
-How do I sustain the prophet through my daily actions?
-Am I doing what I need to in order to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ personally?
-In what ways do I know the church is true?
-Am I one in purpose with the Godhead?
-Am I better able to understand peace because of my trials?
-Am I focused on the negative or the positive?
-Do I actively exercise faith in the atonement?
-Does peace emanate from inside my home?
-If I continue to live the way that I am will I be able to receive all of the blessings promised in my patriarchal blessing?
-What does the Lord want from me?
-Am I wasting time?
-Do I feel the spirit of Elijah in my life?
-Why would we separate ourselves from something that brings us peace and light?
-Do I respect the priesthood?
-Do my friends know about the gospel challenge to know if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true? (Moroni 10:3-5)
-Do my prayers reach the heavens?

I loved this last General Conference.  It made me think a lot about where I am on the path of discipleship.  What are things I could change and need to change in order to be a more powerful tool in my service to the Lord?  What is holding me back?

I know that God lives.  I know that He calls prophets in these latter-days to help us, His Children, prepare for the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.  This is His church and we are His servants.  I love being a missionary and being able to feel the Spirit and see others learn to recognize the power of prayer and personal revelation.  I love being able to speak Portugues and was able to watch conference in Portugues this time.  What a wonderful blessing that the work of the Lord is moving forward so quickly.  This is my testimony that I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Week 56 (8 September 2014)

This week has been interesting. Time is FLYING by now, and I mean FLYING!! I cannot believe that it is SEPTEMBER and that I only have 4 1/2 months left on the mission! I can´t believe it! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Well I am still getting used to Santo Angelo, not sure why it is taking so long to get accustomed to how things work here. I love my Peruana and we get along great. It is super funny because on the mission the trainers are "moms" and Sister H~ always calls me "mãe," even in public. Last week we were printing photos after using the computers and she asked me a question and called me mom. Everyone in the store started looking at us weird... haha. I think she needs to break that habit.

We have some great people that we are teaching... BUT NO ONE WAS HOME THIS WEEK. I am not even exaggerating. ALL of our appointments fell through, but the Lord still blessed us lots. We are helping a less active member M~ come back to church. He wants to serve a mission and be sealed in the temple someday. He is being a member missionary. When we go to visit him, lots of times his friend G~ is over and this week we started teaching him. The lesson was perfect. He had read and understood the first page of the Plan of Salvation pamphlet that we left with him and we taught the rest of the Plan (with M~ helping A LOT in the lesson) and it was great. The spirit was there and I think it was the best lesson with members that I have already had on my mission. At the end we even invited him to be baptized and he accepted. It was wonderful! It was a dream lesson! :) BUT... the next day we went by to talk to M~ and he told us that we had scared away G~, sigh. This was not the first time that an invitation to baptism has scared an investigator. We are just going to have to talk with him a little this week until he understands better the importance of baptism and that it is nothing to be scared of. (Sorry about the typing, this keyboard is horrible...) 

[I corrected all of the spelling mistakes due to the keyboard. -her mom]

Well, I am loving the mission and trying to take advantage of the time I have left! Wahoo! 

Com amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 55 (1 September 2014)

We had an awesome Zone Conference this week and I wanted to send you my notes, but I forgot them so I will send them next week.  I love you!

Sister Phelps

Week 53 (18 August 2014)

Well, lots of things have changed this week. New area, new companion, new languages, new adventures. Right now I am in Santo Ângelo with Sister H~ from Peru. I am finishing her training and teaching her Portuguese. Talk about stressful, but it´s all good.

So far I am liking Santo Angelo a lot. the people here are receptive and we already have a baptism for this weekend. Please keep L~ in your prayers. She was already on her way to baptism when I got here, but we are still teaching her the rest of the lessons and helping her progress even more in the gospel. She is always excited to learn! It was funny, we were filling out her baptismal sheet and guess what!? Her birthday is May 22! She got SUPER excited and gave me one of the biggest hugs I have ever received. Then she said that we could celebrate it together next year. A little bit later she realized that I would already be in the States and . . . let´s just say it was sad to see her reaction. But, she is wonderful, her daughter L~ is 15 and has already been a member for a while and is helping her mom through the process of conversion.

Well, I got to run. Thanks for everything!

Beijos,

Sister Phelps

 

Week 52 (11 August 2014)

I'M BEING TRANSFERRED  :(   to Santo Angelo.  I left my address at home so I will have to send it to you next week. I will be finishing Sister H~'s training. She is from Peru, So I will be teaching Portuguese. . .

Sorry I ran out of time already.  Just know that I had a good week, I am happy and healthy, and I love you.

Com muito amor sempre,
Sister Phelps

Week 51 (4 August 2014)

Well, after last week being somewhat of a struggle, all of our efforts paid off this week. We didn't have a baptism or anything, but our numbers were great, the spirit was strong, and we met some golden investigators [people ready to hear the restored gospel of Jesus Christ].

Our biggest problem was finding people to teach who were willing to make commitments and change their lives for the better through the gospel. On Segunda we met J~. It was a miracle that we met her. Sister A~ [her companion] needed to go to the restroom and we were far from all of the member´s houses and didn´t know what to do. I remembered that we had a former investigator that I taught with Sister L~ who lived close. We went to her house and she and her neighbor (J~) were there. While Sister A~ was in the restroom I began to talk with J~ and got to know her a little better and we marked to visit her another day. We went back Quarta with Sister S~, a sister training leader and had a wonderful lesson. We taught her about the importance of prophets and she understood everything. She even asked about how the sacrament works in our church and said that the things we said made lots of sense about needing a prophet in the last days and all that jazz. It was really special and the spirit was super strong.

We also met D~. He lives in the same house as his niece who is a less-active member. We went to visit her, but she wasn't home so we taught him instead. It was wonderful. He showed so much interest in our message about profets and truly wanted to know if we have a living profet today. We left him the challenge to ask God if we have a profet today. [Sarah's misspellings, but I left it in because I'm guessing it is a symptom of thinking in Portuguese instead of English]. Unfortunately the rest of the week he wasn't at home, BUT on Sexta we found him at home again. When we got there he got super excited and was so happy that we thought he was drunk. We sat down, said a prayer, and then I asked, "so, did you pray like we asked you?" He said yes and then I asked what question he had asked God in his prayer (because lots of times they forget the specific question that they needed to ask to receive a specific answer).  He said "I prayed and asked if we have a living profet today."  We got super excited when he said this and then I asked, "and do you feel like God answered your prayer?" He paused for a minute and said, "I feel calmer and safer now that I know that we must have a prophet today."  We just sat there with our mouths wide open in shock. That was the answer we wanted, but not the answer we expected. He said that this entire week he had been thinking about what we told him and that he prayed 4 times to get an answer and that he felt super happy all week. He thanked us at least 5 times for talking to him and it was great. We taught him about the first vision, left him with a book of Mormon and asked him to say the closing prayer. In his prayer he thanked God for sending him two angels to help him change his life and find the right path. It was a very special lesson.

This week was full of experiences like that. I am so happy to be a missionary and feel the pure love of Christ working in the lives of others. This work is truly Christ's work and as a missionary I am trying so hard to do Heavenly Father's will and bring his children to the truth. I know this is the Church of JESUS CHRIST. It can bring us a fullness of joy that we cannot find anywhere else.

Com muito amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 50 (28 July 2014)

I didn't have any crazy stories this week, but I am FINALLY living with an American again. She was serving in Arizona for 7 months waiting for her visa and is from Georgia and her mom is Japanese. Needless to say that the Brazilians get confused when they find-out that she is American. It is super funny to see their reactions. The first day she was here I was trying to explain something to her in English and I realized that I have forgotten a lot of English words. I had to look in the dictionary to remember the word cabinet. It is super weird because I am to the point where I think in Portuguese and it is hard to flip the switch to English in my brain. And there is also a woman in our branch who is deaf so I am learning Brazilian Sign Language (Libras, which is way different than ASL) and my brain gets even more confused because sometimes I have to think in English to remember a sign and then think in Libras and Portuguese. After we talked to E~ yesterday (the deaf woman) I accidentally started talking to my companion in English. haha. You should have seen her face after I finished talking in English without realizing it. Poor girl. Her companion is crazy.

Week 49 (21 July 2014)

Remember C~?. Well we had been praying A LOT so that she would be able to go to Family Home Evening with us. It was a spiritual battle and we were just hoping that things would work out. We went to pick-up another young woman to go to FHE with us and right as we were leaving her house (5 minutes before the FHE would start) the phone rang. IT WAS C~! Her mom had let her go to FHE with us. Remember that part in The Best Two Years [a movie about missionaries] when they are praying and the phone rings, and it is the investigator. It was like that. And our reaction when I hung-up the phone was a huge hug with my companion like they did in The Best Two Years after Kyle asked to be baptized. It was a mega spiritual experience. The lesson was great because our 3 recent converts (all young women) gave the lesson on faith as part of their Personal Progress [a goal setting program for Young Women, ages 12-18]. Everyone cried. It was wonderful! SUPER WONDERFUL. I get chills just thinking about it. Unfortunately we still cannot teach C~ at her house, but she loves English so we will start teaching her English with some of the other youth to spark friendships so that if she has questions about the gospel she can talk to them.

One of the inactive members at R~, J~, and J~´s house began listening to our messages. It is a miracle because before he avoided us at all costs... :) Yay!

We were lost and didn't know what do on Saturday night so we knocked on a house because we really wanted to teach a lesson. An old woman (M~) came out of the house and let us in. We talked to her for a bit and then her neighbor arrived. We found out that her neighbor (who [name] is also M~) is less active and thinks that she wants to start going to church again and wants us to teach her daughter and her family. The Lord put them in our path. :)

Love you! Sorry it's not organized.

Love,

Sister Phelps

Week 48 (14 July 2014)

Well, I accidentally left my lifeline (my planner) at home, so I am a little lost. (That little book is my brain on the mission.) I don´t remember everything that happened this week, but I do have a story to tell.

Sometimes on the mission you meet GOLDEN INVESTIGATORS. In Portuguese we say that they are "eleitos" or the elect of God. But anyway, it is every missionaries goal, dream, objective to find these people who the Lord has been preparing to find the truth and you get to be a part of their journey to find the truth. So, how do you know when you have found a golden investigator? What are some of the signs? I´ll share a few.

- It is usually a miracle that they are home when you knock on their door because you have already gone to their house many times to teach them and no one was home. (You have to be persistent in these circumstances).

-There is usually bad weather outside, a crazy dog that wants to eat you in the front of their house, or you can´t find the address.

-When you finally get in the lesson there are at least three major distractions that could be one of the following... dogs, cats, birds, crying babies, screaming toddlers, loud neighbors, food, television, an 80 year old person that says things randomly that have nothing to do with the lesson... etc.

-You say the opening prayer and then a scripture comes to your mind that you haven´t thought about in a while and you feel like you should share it.

-They pay attention to every word that you say and seem very interested.

-You see their eyes light up when they hear things that they didn't know before (that we have a prophet today, that there is another book of scripture other than the Bible, that families can be together forever, that we lived with God before our life on earth began... etc.)

-They have the perfect answer to every question that you ask or at least try to answer. They also ask questions when they aren't understanding something or if they are just curious to know more.

-They say the closing prayer and thank God for sending the missionaries to them. (Doesn't always happen, but is even more of a sign that they are ready.)

-When you mark a day to come back they look excited to learn more and are excited to read what you left with them. (their homework)

-When you go back they did their homework and sometimes a little extra. They have questions and want to go to church.

THIS ladies and gentlemen is a golden investigator. C~ is one of them. She is 13 and is perfect. In May Sister L~ and I were teaching an older couple and M~ (C~'s grandma) stopped by to talk to them. We got her address and planned to go visit her that week. We went by her house a few times and NO ONE was home. We ended-up forgetting about her until last week. We were trying to find new investigators and I found her name in my old planner. We went to her house and she said she didn't have time so we planned to go back the next day. We went back and she wasn't home so we talked to her daughter and marked to go back the next day. Well, the next day it was raining cats and dogs. Seriously, talk about rain. Three sisters, one small umbrella, one broken umbrella, a super muddy road and a mission to complete.

 

We arrived at their house SOAKING wet. C~ was there with her grandma (M~). We said the opening prayer over the noise of her loud little brother and the dogs barking outside. When we finished the prayer I opened straight to 2 Nephi 32:9 about prayer. We talked to her about the importance of prayer and how it can help us. She shared an experience that she had had and then began asking about when we had church meetings. I then did something I don't usually do and explained to her about the Book of Mormon. When I did that something about her eyes changed, there was a spark. She wanted to read that book. I didn't even have to ask. She said the closing prayer and thanked God for sending us. It was great. She said that she wanted to go to church and was super excited when I gave her a Book of Mormon.

 

So... After you find these people and know who they are Satan does too and he does everything he can to stop them from finding the truth. We stopped by her house to see why she didn't go to church and she told us the that her mom said she cannot switch religions, she cannot talk to us anymore, and she cannot even visit the church. When C~ told us this I almost cried. She said that her mom doesn't understand her. C~ is so open to learn more, try new things, and her mom is [not]. Hopefully a miracle will happen and something will change her mind.

 

These people are out there. There are people READY to be baptized, READY to accept the gospel, and it is our job to find them at any cost. That is what being a missionary (and a member) of the Church of Jesus Christ is all about. I know this church is true and that it has the power to change lives. Let's share it with others.

Com amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 46 (30 June 2014)

I´m still enjoying being a kid... haha.

Well, this week was pretty slow. Not sure what it was, maybe the cold weather, constant rain, or the World Cup, but it was really hard for us to find people to teach. We made progress with [a sister we are teaching]. She was also a lot more open with us. Let us know how she´s feeling about all this and told us some spiritual experiences that she has had. It was a wonderful lesson. We found-out about transfers on Saturday and changes have been made. The two sisters who Sister L~ and I were living with are on their way home and finished their missions. It was sad to see them go this morning. So what happens now? I will stay in Itachere and Sister L~ will work in the Ramo Centro and take-over for the other sisters. We will both TRAIN! Yes folks, I will get to train a new little missionary and am super excited. We get to go to Santa Maria for training tomorrow and pick-up our companions Wednesday. I am super excited! (and a little scared..) but I know that the Lord will bless and help me to be a good trainer. :)  This will be a fun week! Sorry I didn't write more. I love you all and am grateful for the love an support! Oh, and have a great 4th of July!!

Com amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 45 (23 June 2014)

Segunda- There is deaf woman in our ward named E~. She invited us over to her house to get to know her better and help her dad, who is  a member. We went over there and were able to learn libras (Portuguese sign language) pretty well. It is super funny because her dad is practically deaf too, but has never learned libras so we have to yell to talk to him. It was interesting when we left a thought with them.

Terca- There was another Brasil game today so we went to the chapel and watched "Mountains of the Lord." It is a really good film about the building of the Salt Lake temple. If you haven´t watched it yet, I would recommend it.

Quarta- Our lunch fell through today, but the Elders' investigators offered to make us lunch. We helped too, but it was so wonderful that they are so willing to help us last minute.

Quinta- There was a huge activity in the chapel today for our branch and almost everyone was there. It was a huge success and we were able to feel the unity of the branch growing as the members interacted together.

Sexta- We met an "elect" today. He is wonderful and was so ready for the gospel. We went to teach our investigator C~ and M~, his friend, was there. We began teaching about the plan of salvation and M~ had so many doubts and questions that we were able to answer that he got super excited to learn more. All of his family is super strong in another church so we won´t be able to teach him at his house, but we will continue to teach him at Charles' house.

Sabado- We left a message with a family in the ward who has been struggling and I was able to use example and quotes from [General] Conference that I had been studying to help them. It was wonderful to see how the spirit can bring things to our remembrance.

Domingo- F~ went to church today and was able to get a blessing to help. It was great to see her put her faith in action. 

Well I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Te amo,

Sister Phelps

Week 44 (16 June 2014)

Segunda- Normal p-day.

Terca- We are working with an investigator that we have been teaching since I got here. The only problem is that she feels as though she hasn´t received a clear answer that the Book of Mormon is true. We made tons of progress today because she realized that there are things she is still doing that maybe aren´t allowing her to feel an answer. We are praying a lot for her and know that she will receive an answer soon enough.

Quarta- We are helping our recent converts start family history and as we were talking to them, their mom began telling stories that they had never heard before about when they were little and when she was younger. It was cool to see how excited they got to hear about the past.

Quinta- THE WORLD CUP started today and it was Elder C~´s (21st) birthday and the equivelant to Valentine´s Day here. It was a busy day...

Sexta- There is a little boy named A~ whose dad we are [working with] and his mom isn´t baptized yet. We went to visit them and I tried to say goodbye and shake his hand and he refused to. He didn´t want us to leave and started crying. It was super cute. Aww.

Sabado- We are helping a family of less-active members. The boy in the family is active, but the mom and two sisters aren´t. The youngest sister just turned 12 and [is nervous] to go to Young Womens. It is a little weird, but she is shy and doesn´t want change. The young women´s group here is so wonderful that she will fall in love with all the girls when she starts going.

Domingo- SO, remember the boy who cried when we left, his dad has been inactive for a long time. He surprised us and came to church! It was a wonderful surprise and one that we weren´t expecting. We are going to start working more with him and his family.

Week 42 (2 June 2014)

Well, this week was a little slow, but in the end we had GREAT, FANTASTIC, SPECTACULAR results. :)

Segunda- We went to contact the friend of a member today. Well, she isn´t really the member´s friend, but a classmate that she has talked to a few times. We did an activity with A~ (the member) where she said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father to bring to her mind people who she knows who could hear the gospel. She put down Y~´s name. (the contact). We talked to Y~ and her mom (S~) and it was a great lesson. They were really sweet and offered to let us return the next day. 

Terca- The Lord truly knows each one of us. We found C~´s name in our Area Book the first week that we got to São Borja and have knocked on her door I don´t know how many times, but she was never home. Today we had other plans, but Sister L~ and I felt that we needed to go to her house. We knocked three times and finally someone opened the door. It was C~ and she was in desperate need of peace. Her daughter had gone to the hospital two hours earlier and was having serious problems. We taught about faith and repentance and the atonement. It was a great lesson and everyone was feeling the Spirit. Unfortunately she works a lot so it may be hard to teach her, but we are going to try. 

Quarta- I wasn´t feeling too well today so we didn´t get much done unfortunately, but it´s all good.

Quinta- Sister S~ (our Sister training leader) came and visited today. We taught one of our investigators who wants to be baptized but has some [concerns] and she wants to know that The Book of Mormon is true! It was a great lesson.

Sexta- SO this entire week we have been going to the V~ family´s house to teach R~, J~, and J~ (and A~ who is actually the Elder´s investigator). [They] were interviewed for their baptisms today and passed!! Wahoo!

Sabado!!- BAPTISMS! It was such a great day!! R~, J~, AND A~ were BAPTIZED!! It was so special because almost all of their family members are coming back to the church for a long time. Their grandma, who was the first member of their family to join the church passed away a while back and you could feel that she was there watching the baptism. Because of her all of the family now have their eyes focused on the temple and the youth want to serve missions. WAHOO!!! (Oh and there were 41 people at the baptismal service!)

Domingo- We missed the bus, had to call a taxi, she charged us way more than normal, but it was all good because we got to the chapel in time for the confirmations and the sacrament. After church we had a great big lunch (because that´s the big meal in Brazil instead of dinner) at the V~´s house. It was wonderful. There were tons of people there and we got to help cook a little. Man, I love that family. :)

Well, I love you. Thanks for everything fam!

Com muito amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 41 (26 May 2014)

Segunda´- all of my photos since the CTM were deleted because of a virus the got into my SD card... I took it to get fixed and they ran ever test that they could and revived NOTHING... I have learned my lesson. 

Terca- We were teaching our youth who are going to be baptized on the 31st of May (oh and A~ too, but she is the Elder´s investigator). As we were ending the lesson A~´s mom asked if we wanted to watch a video of when A~ was a baby. So we went into their house and SURPRISE! They had planned an early surprise party for me. They made me give a speech and I cried... They had balloons and a cake with 21 on the top. It was wonderful. :)

Quarta- All of our plans fell through, but we taught the youth again and they are progressing. They really want to learn more and are trying to help their family members come back to the church. (I have more in the letter that I sent you about last week. Sorry it will take a while to get there.)

Quinta- I AM 21! I can´t believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!! We had two parties. One at Sister S~'s house (Pres of the Relief Society). She made a chocolate cake that was out of this world and the best tea that I have ever tasted. (apple with cinnamon and cloves.) After that we had a family night with a less-active member and she made us dinner (which I ate even though I was already full, and CAKE again.) It was a great day, but it is the first birthday that I wasn´t looking forward too. Growing-up stinks sometimes. Now I understand the thoughts behind Peter Pan.

Sexta- Everything fell through, but we are getting lots of member referrals and will start working with them ASAP.

Sabado- It is freeeeeeezing cold outside. Seriously. Being in the street all-day is not fun in the cold. haha. But the blessings will come. (Cold in May is super hard to get used to.)

Domingo- Well, all of our little kiddos that will get baptized on Saturday were at church and one even brought her boyfriend. It was a great day and we had a Family Home Evening with 30 people!

I love you all! Thanks for all of the support that yáll send my way. Amo voces bastante e vou continuar fazendo meu melhor no trabalho do Senhor.

Com amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 39 (12 May 2014)

Segunda- We had a great Noite Familiar (FHE, Family Home Evening) tonight at Irma F~'s house.  It was a lot of fun. :)

Terca- We traveled for four hours to Santo Angelo for a Zone Conference. Sister G~ was there! (It was awesome to see her again after a few months.) I gained a lot of new insights into how we do missionary work as President spoke. He reminded us the importance of follow-up, just as Elder M. Russell Ballard did in the last General Conference. He also said that "Godly things can only be understood through the teachings and whisperings of the spirit." Overall it was a good day. On our way home there was a horrible accident on the highway so we ended-up sitting on the side of the road (with our entire district and the van drivers) for about an hour. We talked about deep doctrine. It was sweet. 

Quarta- I completed 9 months on the mission today! It is weird to think that half of my mission is over... time is starting to fly by. We ended-up going to seminary today to get to know the youth more and bear testimony about the importance of seminary. Sometimes I miss being a youth... haha.

I ran out of time. Just know that talking to y'all was the best part of my week.

LOVE YOU!

-Sister Phelps

Week 38 (5 May 2014)

Segunda- We had FHE [family home evening] with the family of the Relief Society president and a few other members with the purpose of helping a less active, unfortunately she didn't end-up coming.

Terca- We taught a woman today who had been taught by [another church] for a while and has so many doubts now about the Bible and gospel that she didn't have before. It is sad that all of the things that the [they] teach that is wrong can be corrected through revelation by latter-day prophets through correct interpretation of the Bible. Luckily she doesn't want to Bible bash, but really learn what is right.

Quarta- We found the name of a less active young man on one of our lists and went to try and visit him. When we got to his house his aunt, N~, answered the door and we ended-up teaching her a lesson (because he had moved). She is wonderful. The spirit was really strong during our lesson and she seems super interested in learning more about the gospel.

Quinta- It´s MAY! Yay! Best month ever! (for many reasons). My birthday, SKYPE, I will complete my half way mark in the mission, just lots of fun, exciting stuff! Today my companion and I started feeling sick again and we ended-up staying home trying to let our bodies rest and get to feeling better. So, we live in an old chapel that is right next to the new chapel. In the chapel they had a dance for youth conference and we could hear all of the music. It was fun to hear all of the tunes that I miss, but it made me miss being a youth... haha. 

Sexta- My companion has NO VOICE today. So what does that mean for her companion. I get to teach alone! Yay. (not really). I learned a lot today trying to teach alone, it's no wonder that each missionary has a companion.

Sabado- My companion still has no voice, so we took a young woman along with us today as my companion. She is 17 and teaches so well. I hope she serves a mission. We talked to two less-active [people] today and they both want to return to the church, but are worried about what people will say. It's sad when this is the case. No one should be embarrassed to go back to church no matter how much time they were away. :(

Domingo- It was raining cats and dogs, and unfortunately that means that we only had 30 people at church today. After church we ended-up finding two new golden investigators! One older woman who has already been taught by missionaries and been in the church and a young woman who is 11 and was practically asking to be baptized during our FHE at her neighbor's house. (And D~, the young woman, came to church without us or the members who live next door to her inviting her.) It was a great day. (Oh and Sister L~ still has no voice.)

Have a great week and remember that I am always praying for you family! I can´t wait until SUNDAY!

Te amo,

Sister Phelps

Week 37 (28 April 2014)

Segunda- So we have been using the area book (that has all of the past investigators information) a lot this week since we are opening the area (starting fresh with two new missionaries). It has been an adventure so far trying to track people down, but we had some good lessons today and have two new investigators.

Terca- Again, we are focusing on the Area book and found two young women who had been receiving the lessons a few years ago and practically all of their family members are less-active. Wahoo! Let´s get to work and reactivate and baptize this family! :)

Quarta- My companion has been under the weather all week and I think I am picking up a little bit of the cold that she has, but we are trekking through it. We get to work in the same branch as the Zone Leaders and it is fun to see how the members treat us differently than them. For example, there is a young woman who is 18, and she told the elders that she had three friends with whom she had been sharing the gospel, but she was embarrassed to give the address to the Elders. (This was a few weeks before we got here). The first day that she was teaching with us we asked about her friend and she showed us straight to her friend´s house and we marked a return appointment right there and then. It was awesome. Elders are great, don´t get me wrong, but sometimes you just need SISTERS! :)

Quinta- [My companion] was super sick today so we ended-up staying home, but I started reading the Book of Mormon again (in English and Portuguese this time) and it was nice to have a day to really focus on re-energizing my spirit. We also planned-out well what we want to do this next week.

Sexta- So we were supposed to have a baptism today of two youth whose mom is less-active. Unfortunately [it has been postponed]. Luckily they still want to be baptized so we will have two baptisms next Saturday, but it was sad that they both fell through. 

Sabado- She hasn't gotten better yet and I´m pretty sure I have the flu, but it´s all good. Three of the four sisters in Sao Borja have the flu now, and I am one of them, but the Lord is just trying to teach us something, so it´s all good. We had the adult session of Stake Conference today and they talked a lot about not only the importance of baptizing, but reactivating less-actives too. It was a good reminder for the members. 

Domingo- Stake Conference was good and we got to talk a lot with Sister Parrela while waiting for President Parrela to finish interviews with the stake leaders. After that we ate lunch at the Stake President's house and then got out our list of less-actives and went to work. Literally there was no one at home. We hadn't had the chance to do weekly planning yet because of being sick and so we had the option to go home early and plan or stay in the street and try to find someone to teach. We didn't know what to do so we said a prayer asking for guidance and I felt like we should go home and plan. We took the bus (because our area is 40 minutes away from where we live, walking) and a woman sat next to me. We started talking and I ended-up teaching there the entire lesson of the Restoration and got her phone number. I know that if we had not gone home early I wouldn't have met M~.

I love this church and am so grateful to be a missionary!

Com muito amor,

Sister Phelps

Week 36 (21 April 2014)

This week was great! I am in Sao Borja serving in the Branch I~ with Sister L~ and loving it so far! We got to the area Terca-feira, were locked out of our house for a few hours, finally got in and it has been smooth sailing from there. We are THE FIRST SISTERS to ever serve in this branch so it is fun to see how everyone is reacting to our presence there. We have a fan club practically of 8 and 9 year old girls that run up to us when they see us and give us big hugs and best of all lots of Easter chocolate (that we shared with the Elders who serve with us in the ward because the girls forgot about them.) haha. We have two baptism that the Elders who had been working here before left us for next Saturday and are working with an 11 year old so that he can get baptized in May. I am really looking forward to working here and feel at home in this Branch! Wahoo!

Easter was great because the Elders, my companion, and I went around to the member´s houses and sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." They really liked it and I hope that they know how much we really love and appreciate them. Well, that´s the wrap for this week. Thanks for all of the prayers and remember that every Sunday should feel like Easter Sunday, with our thoughts turned to the Savior.

 

-Sister Phelps

Sister Phelps' new address

This address if for letters only. 

 

Sister Phelps

Caixa Postal 27

Centro- Sao Borja -RS
97670-970

Packages are mailed to the Santa Maria Mission office:

Sister Sarah Phelps
Brazil Santa Maria Mission
Rua Alberto Pascualine, 121 Sala 403
Centro
97015-907 Santa Maria - RS
Brazil
Phone: 55 (55)-3222-1666

Week 35 (14 April 2014)

Well, this week was an interesting one.  Very interesting.

Segunda-feira- We taught a less active member and her family and talked to them about how we can receive answers through general conference.  She took our promise and challenge seriously and said that this was an answer to her prayers.  :)  (Oh, and I completed 8 months of my mission today!)

Terca-feira- We had a great lesson with our progressing investigator So~.  She really connects with the Joseph Smith story so we watched the video of the Restoration with her.  It was great (except for the fact that the member that was with us started talking in the middle of the first vision.)  Don't do that to the missionaries in your ward please.  It just doesn't work.  Haha.

Quarta-feira- So my companion's mom was very sick lately and we found out more information today about how she is doing and it wasn't good news.  My companion ended-up deciding to go home after a lot of prayer and fasting.  She taught me a lot about how the Lord will truly answer us when we are diligently seeking an answer.

Quinta-feira- We taught So~ again and this time it was about the Word of Wisdom... dun dun DUN!  With the help of a member and a lot of help from the Spirit she agreed to live the Word of Wisdom.  It was a miracle, truly.

Sexta-feira- We thought that my companion would be leaving next week because that is when we have transfers, but President called today and she has a flight early Saturday morning.  We ran around all day packing her things and getting her ready to leave.

Sabado- She left at 3am.  :(  But the Lord's work had to continue.  I am in a trio with the other Sisters of Camobi until I go to SAO BORJA!  Yep I am being transferred, which kind of stinks because we found the perfect investigator today!  She accepted to be baptized without a second thought.  We met her through a reference from a member who lives in another part of Santa Maria.  N~'s house collapsed a few weeks ago and this member S~ has been building it for her with no charge.  After this selfless service she wanted to know more about the church.  How wonderful that the Lord was able to work miracles through a willing and worthy member of the church.

Domingo- We said goodbye to everyone today.  :(   But, in Sacrament Meeting there were 4 baby blessings.  How cool is that, and all of the babies have been born since I got here.  It has been a fun ride in Camobi and I am excited for the next adventure!

Week 33 (31 March 2014)

Sorry that I haven't been writing you about my weeks the past few times.

This week was good teaching wise, I am finally feeling like I am becoming my witty self again and it is a lot easier for me to get the trust and friendship of the members.  My Portuguese is getting better too!  I had two people not believe that I was American this week and one of the members said that he couldn't tell that it was me talking on the phone!  Wahoo!  I'm finally making lots of progress with the language and let me tell ya, it feels SO GOOD!

Segunda- nothing really happened... everything fell through (but the rest of the week was good.)

Terca- So my companion has a problem with her knee.  We stayed at home today because she was in a lot of pain and needed to rest.  We were able to update our entire area book and organize our list of less-active members, so we still felt like we had a productive day.

Quarta- We were visiting an area that we work in a lot and Sister T~ began to talk to a woman in front of her house.  After a little while I remembered that I had already talked to her twice before, but Sister M~ and I were never able to teach her.  She is wonderful.  Her name is Si~ and she is looking for a church and wants to know which one is right.  It was awesome.  We marked to return Quinta.

Quinta- The Sister Training Leaders got to teach with us today.  Sister L~ stayed with our companionship and taught with us.  If there is one missionary that I look-up to here it is Sister L~.  She teaches so well and always has such a wonderful spirit with here.  We taught So~, one of our eleitos, and were able to [learn a lot about her] just by truly being her friends and asking her inspired questions.  We also taught Si~ and ended-up making a BAPTISMAL DATE!!  She will be baptized on April 19th!

Sexta- We found a less-active [member] and have been teaching him every once and a while, he wasn't home when we went to talk to him so we ended-up teaching his dad who has been to the church once and has a lot of respect for it.  (You know the dad in Sound of Music, he looks like that guy when he was older.)  It was so sad to hear about [some of his concerns ] and how much he worries about [his children] everyday.  It reminds me that as a member and [as] a future mom I am so blessed to know what foundations my family will need to have in order to stay firm and make good decisions in order to live together for all eternity.

Sabado- We were walking down [a street] and a little girl stopped us in the street.  She said, "I like Mormons and my dad was almost a Mormon, do you want to meet him?"  Of course the answer was "SIM!"  So we went and talked to A~.  Turns out that he is the brother of a less-active and was taught by the missionaries a while back and was wanting to talk to missionaries again, but never had the courage to stop us in the street.  He is truly trying to [improve] his life.  We also taught V~ (the daughter of a recent convert who we have been [teaching] since I got here.)  We made a lot of progress today.  We felt that we needed to do something different in order to capture her interest during the lesson so we used Pres. Uchtdorf's talk, "Our Wonderful Journey Home" [https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/your-wonderful-journey-home?lang=eng] to teach the plan of salvation and ... SHE LOVED IT!  She felt the Spirit so strongly, had a change of heart, and accepted to be baptized on the 12th of April!  It was truly a miracle.

Domingo- We taught So~ again and made SO MUCH PROGRESS with her.  She understood everything we said, will pray about baptism, and has started to open her heart-up to the Gospel.

Thanks for the love and support!  Pray for missionary experiences and they will come!  I promise!

Com muito amor,
Sister Phelps

Week 30 (10 March 2014)

It was a great week!  Wahoo!  The mission is AMAZING and my companion is the bomb.  :)

Segunda- We got invited to a family home evening with a part-member family, a less-active member, and a recent convert.  First miracle, we and didn't have to set-up anything.  This is the perfect example of member missionary work, helping to strengthen the ward and letting the missionaries get involved.  Everyone should do this, plan a FHE [Family Home Evening] and invite friends, less-active [members], and (of course) the missionaries.

Terca- The mom (C~) of a recent convert in the ward said that she would be willing to take our lessons.  She is the sweetest lady, but is a little confused about the Priesthood and the importance of having the actual authority of God in order to baptize, etc.  It was a very frustrating lesson because she said that she knows that the church is true, but then went on to say that she also believes that the [a different] church is true, and so on.  We still love her as if she were family, but it is so sad when someone is this close to the truth, but doesn't understand one IMPORTANT aspect of the restoration.  We will keep working with her and hopefully get somewhere eventually.  :)

Quarta- We ate lunch with a member that I hadn't met before and her cute little girl.  During the entire meal the little girl sang primary songs and told us the story of Branca de Neve (Snow White) at least ten times.  She made our day. Hehe.

Quinta- We had a lesson with a student at the university here in Santa Maria (Camobi).  Her name is P~ and she is very special.  She is very strong in her church, but has curiosity in what others believe.  After we sang a hymn to start out the lesson she asked if she could sing a hymn.  It was super cute that she was also open to share with us her faith.  She also shared a scripture with us.  We are going to teach her again on Wednesday, so we will see what happens.  She is so special though.  :)  Love her.

Sexta- DAY OF MIRACLRES!  We had 9 obvious miracles happen to us today.  It was great.  The Lord put person after person in our path (sometimes literally) today and I know that a lot of good will come from today.

Sabado- V~ and R~ are perfect.  They have been legally married for 16 years (which is rare) and have a 15 year old son.  I have never heard an investigator ask so many inspired/perfect questions during a lesson before, such as "how does God choose/call his prophets?"  They are amazing.

Domingo- out of time... [Missionaries have a limit amount of time to spend on emails.]

Please keep in your prayers these people that I have the opportunity to teach.  Thanks for all of the support!  Love you all!

Te amo.
-Sister Phelps

Santa Maria is really cool :)

Week 29 (3 March 2014)

This week was rough.  Almost every single plan fell through, but the Lord used it to His advantage and we met some really great, new investigators.

Segunda- It was a normal p-day for the most part, but around 4pm I started to not feel so great.  Being sick on the mission is no fun.  Luckily after a good night's sleep and a lot of praying the stomach pain had gone away when I woke up.

Terca- Like I said, everything fell through.  We ended up knocking on thousand of doors (more or less).  We marked a few return appointments, but for the most part no one was in the mood to talk to two awesomely fantastic humble missionaries today.  Hehe.  But really, it was a bummer to say the least.

Quarta- MIRACLES!   I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost.  We found a family that is truly perfect!  J~ and J~C~.  They have a little girl named S~.  About a week ago we contacted J~C~ on the stairs of his apartment complex.  He had come down to get the mail and said that it was truly a miracle that we had found him down, out of the apartment at that time of day because he was usually working, or something like that.  So after everything fell through AGAIN today we decided to pass by his house and see if he was home.  We rang the little apartment door bell and his wife let us in right away.  She is perfect and has even met the bishop and his wife.  When we were about to start the lesson she told us to wait and called her husband to see when he would get home from work.  He came home right away when she told him that we were there.  It was the perfect lesson.  We talked about eternal families and J~ cried.  They have been looking for a religion and have even traveled the world studying other churches.  (J~C~ loves Greek Mythology!!)  They want to go to church.  Unfortunately they are on vacation right now, but they have SO MUCH POTENTIAL!  Pray for them please.

Quinta- We were lost trying to find a street that is an hour from our house, yes, walking.  We were lost for about two hours and finally... finally, after asking at least ten people for directions (because we forgot the map at home) found the street.  Found some old investigators and even challenged one woman to be baptized and she accepted.  She understood everything that we explained about authority.  It was amazing!  That is the hardest part for most people to understand about baptism.  The rest of the week was good.  Unfortunately I will be losing sister M~, but will get a new Chileana.  I am also going to lost Sister G~.  We have lived together since I got it he field and have become such good friends.  I am going to miss her so much!

Love y'all!
-Sister Phelps

Week 28 (24 February 2014)

Como se diz... everything fell through. haha.  This week was rough, but it's all good.

Segunda- We split Camobi last week with the other dupla in our area which has been a blessing. (Smaller area means less walking).  We ended-up teaching one of our star investigators name J~ and his wife M~.  He is wonderful and is searching for the truth.  He has already read the Book of Mormon and believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, but he is waiting for an answer from God.  he usually has dreams when he receives answers so it has been hard to help him realize that the Lord answers our prayers through other ways as well.  He is great and I have high hopes that he will get baptized in March!

Terca- Sister M~ was really sick today.  We ended up walking to the hospital so that she could do some tests.  It's nothing severe, don't worry.  It is such a blessing that our bishop and his wife are doctors.  :)

Quarta- We went to the most dangerous part of Camobi today (well we are there almost everyday) and we had two really important lessons planned.  We had collaborated with an irmao of the church to meet us there, but is was already 20 minutes after the time that we had planned and he wasn't there yet.  We started to get really nervous because everyone here tells us that we should not go to that neighborhood (ghetto) late at night, but it is the only time that our pesquisadores are at home.  As we began to walk to another investigator because we couldn't enter that neighborhoods alone, a member appeared out of nowhere and we were able to teach both of the families and have some great spiritual experiences.

Quinta- We taught R~ today.  She is 19 and super cool.  Her house is really nice and organized.  As we taught her I could feel the spirit so strongly and so could she.  It was awesome!  The spirit is more likely to manifest itself when we are in a calm, quiet, clean, organized environment.

Sexta- One of our investigators (V~), who is an energetic old lady, was almost baptized last year and we found her through the Area Book.  She is very silly, and likes to get off topic during our lessons.  We decided to take control of the lessons and we spoke with more authority and used pictures while we were teaching and the lesson went perfectly and she retained nearly everything that we taught her.  She is also having some health problems so we brought an irmao to her house that night because she wanted a blessing.  It was wonderful to see her feel the spirit and see her faith in the blessing that she received.

Sabado- So, one of the converts of Sister M~ and Sister F~ (I took her place here) had her first talk in sacrament meeting this week and wanted to read us her talk.  It was PERFECT.  It is amazing to see that she is truly converted to the gospel and is trying to understand every aspect of the church.  That is what the mission is all about!

Domingo- The talk was great and so was gospel principles.  Love that class. After church we had been invited for "coffee" at a less-active member's house.  It ended up being her 90 year old mother and aunt there waiting for us with coffee.  Yeah, awkward.  Luckily we got around it and said that we love strawberry tea, so she made us some of that instead.  (only black tea is against the word of wisdom here.)  It was so cute seeing these two 90 year old sisters interact, hehe.  You really don't need TV on the mission.

I love you all and pray for you always.

Amo, amo, amo voces!
-Sister Phelps