Free to Choose - Agency and Birthday Cake.

This week was pretty good in some ways 👍, pretty normal in others 👌, and not so good, as a  matter of fact, in other ways 👎.  Unfortunately, we are kind of "hitting a wall," - literally a "smack in the face." Almost our whole group of investigators - people we teach and our scheduled baptism fell through; not so good and a bit depressing. We had the scheduled baptismal interview with Dorival. Elder Gonçalvez was with him interviewing for almost two hours. Elder Gonçalvez walks out with the scriptures in his hands and tells us he can't be baptized as scheduled. There were a lot of things that Dorival is doing and unfortunately continues to do that prevents him from being baptized as scheduled. He has a ton of problems with some addictions. We continued to try and help him, pray for him to help him improve but he doesn't want to change right now. We told him we can't continue to visit him unless he has a desire to change.  He came to church on Sunday and began to argue with us because of this. He said that we can't deny or shy away from him because God wouldn't do that. We are going to start teaching him once a week or so at the church house. We will see what happens. I really hope he recognizes where he is wrong and changes it. Funny after over a month of visiting him he calls us Sister Lara and Sister "Americana" - his nickname he calls me, he keeps trying to imitate with an American accent. Makes me laugh and roll my eyes every time!

Remember Luana that we baptized is doing well but now we were trying this week to help her twelve year old brother Daniel be baptized. He said that he hadn't received an answer that he needs to be baptized. We prayed a ton and even fasted with him Saturday until Sunday morning. He promised that even if he didn't receive an answer he would go to church. We get to their house and are literally dragging him out of bed and he refuses with everything he had. He said he doesn't want to be baptized. To make things worse, our other investigators called and said they don't want visits right now; it keeps them from progressing. This week was definitely sad in that fact but we are doing our best and I know that God is accepting our efforts. The sad part is we can do everything possible to help them and God can give them a million answers but they still have their agency to choose Christ or not.

This past week we had a family home evening in a members house with Luana and her three younger siblings. We are walking in the community and it starts pouring rain. The water literally rushes through flooding everything! I grab the youngest girl so that she doesn't get soaked as we try and maneuver through puddles and inches of water. Needless to say I got soaked but the little girl Rafaela that is three years old was completely dry - thank goodness!

Sister Lara and I are always helping the little girls get ready for the day on Sunday playing soccer with Daniel and folding laundry to help Luana. Her grandpa works and she goes to school and takes care of pretty much everything else because her mom passed away. The hugs from the little girls are adorable and I love serving their family!

This week was Sister Laras birthday. I think we have eaten cake almost every day this entire week and we ate cake four times and ice cream on the day of her birthday. It was almost like it was my birthday too; benefits of having a companion. 😉 We ate açai - a berry found on açaí palm trees in South America, açaí berries are a lot like grapes; you can also make all kinds of things with it. We ate cake with our district and with a member from our ward named Rosy. With all the stuff I am eating I am gonna come back home a billion pounds. 😄

Sister Lara's Birthday celebration at a member's home.

We had a thought after much prayer that we needed to visit a specific investigator. As we were walking we found a man named Dinho that confided in us that he is looking for a church to attend and that he wants to come closer to God. He came to church on Sunday and is incredibly kind. We are going to visit him this week and hopefully get him ready for baptism the next couple of weeks! He is middle aged and lives alone but has a testimony that God lives. It is a great feeling to follow the Spirit!
Transfers are in two weeks a little nervous for that.
Love you all lots have a great week!

Brazil June Festival and Teaching Investigators.

Ola Tudo Bem! - Hello, how are you!
I hope it was a fantastic week for all of you! This week was honestly super, super exhausting and difficult but rewarding at the same time. This week we did two divisions (temporary companion splits) with different sister missionaries and I stayed in my area both times. It's kind of tough because we have a lot of daily goals that are important to meet in order to have success  and I feel it is very important to meet the goals. I am the one that stays in the area during the week with other new sisters. But I have honestly learned to love getting to know new Sisters and I am learning so much, so fast like - how to teach, joke and get to know the investigators and problem solve. Sister Lara is still the Sister Training Leader over six other sisters. Everyone says that it seems like I have way more time on the mission than I have. Sister Lara also says that every Sister that is trained by a Sister Training Leader becomes one on the mission so that could happen in the future for me.  President Acosta loves Sister Lara and the work she does and the way she teaches. He told her and I that he wants me to be even better than her as a missionary. He wants me to be strong, brave, and good so that's a little bit of pressure. 😊

I love my district! They literally save my life almost every day, especially my District Leader Elder Gomzalvez. The week before I only did twenty-four contacts or people to hopefully investigate and teach. This amount is not good at all and so I made a new goal with my District Leader to do fifty contacts  this coming week. He calls me everyday to talk with me about how the day went and my goals and to help keep me going.

This week our baptism fell through with an older man about sixty-five years of age, named Dorival. He has an amazing knowledge of the Bible and knows without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true. He reads the Book of Mormon every day. He talks a lot and has lots of questions. But through this experience, I have learned the power of listening and to pray for the Spirit when teaching him and the Spirit will help him know the truth. The Spirit is one that teaches, comforts and inspires. We have helped him prepare for baptism but one day we went to visit and he told us he was going to stop going to church with us and that he was going to stop praying because God was tired of listening to him. He didn't think that God listened to his prayers because of some personal problems he has that have been going on for many years without a solution. He kept resisting baptism and we didn't know why. He had his baptismal interview with Elder Gomzalvez, our District Leader, this past week. It lasted for almost two hours. Elder Gomzalvez walks out from the interview with the scriptures in his hands and told us he couldn't be baptized. Dorival has some problems with addiction and some really terrible difficulties and bad choices in the past he needs to correct first. Once he told Elder Gomzalvez, Dorival seems to be a lot happier and has agreed to prepare for baptism the thirtieth of this month! He always tells us that he misses Sister Lara, Sister Affonso and I when we would visit and teach him and that he likes talking with us. He lives alone which is really sad. Dorival calls me "Americana." He often says, "Where's Americana?" "How are you Americana?´"  Oh, how I love nicknames! It's pretty funny because he always says "Americana" with an American accent or what he thinks is an American accent. 😊

This past week we had Festa Junina (translated as 'June Party' or 'June Festival') which is a holiday they have here in Brazil. We had a ward celebration at the church house and it was a blast! We ate hot dogs and Paçoquinha or Paçoca which is a ground peanut sugar and salt candy. There is a young woman in our ward about fifteen that "I love to death." Her name is Isabel. She was "dragging" me around everywhere at the party saying, "Sister Smart you have to try this, you have to do this Sister!´" She always writes me notes and we joke a ton about everything! We played the game "musical chairs" and just chatted with some of our recent converts and members.  It was a blast! Tons of flags and colors everywhere and all the girls wore floral dresses. It was super cool to see something authentic!

Children's authentic dress for Festa Junina.

Brazilian colorful decorations during Festa Junina, "June Festival/Party."

This week during one of the divisions (temporary companion splits) we were knocking on doors to try and find new people to teach. This lady named Elena opened the door and was a little annoyed at first but I felt I needed to share a message with her. I started sharing about the importance of baptism and the Holy Ghost and all of a sudden she starts crying. I ask her why she is crying and she said she felt something in her heart and I told her that that was God telling her he loves her and that what we are saying is true. I felt so happy that I was worthy to bear the Spirit and that she could recognize God's hand in her life!

We also had a family night with some less active members Davidson and his wife Juliana, Eliane and a new investigator, Natalia. We played the card game UNO®. I have never met people that can play UNO® so fast and so well. I need to practice up. Eliane's daughter said, "Do you see Jesus up there?" and I said,  "No, do you?" and she said, "Yeah, he has white hair and brown eyes, he is up there!" She is about six years old and has the cutest blond, curly hair. I had prayed five minutes earlier that the Savior could walk beside me. I know that He will walk with us when we ask Him too. I know that He is with me every step of the way.

I hope that you are all doing well and that life is full of joy! Have an amazing week!

Have Courage - The Savior will be by Your Side!

We had divisions (i.e. missionary companion(s) temporary reassignment) again this week and Sister Larsen stayed with Sister Affonso and I in the area. We were doing practices and Sister Larsen is becoming noticeably sad. As I ask her what is wrong she said, "I am here to help and love people but how can I do that when I can't even speak the language?" She has only been in the field one week so getting adjusted is definitely hard.  I remember the huge amount of culture shock that I felt that first week in the field. That night she and I talked in English for a little while about the difficulties of mission life - it helped both of us. I gave her a huge hug and we took a picture so that in eighteen months when we have worked through and overcome so much we can look back and recognize how much we have grown! With trials in ones life, I recognized something super important that Christ will walk with Heavenly Father's children every step of the way!

We had our temple day this past week with three zones in our mission.  I got to talk with a bunch of the missionaries serving in different areas in the mission - and even missionaries I have not seen since the CTM! I have made lots of friends especially with the people in my district.

At the Brazil São Paulo LDS Temple - (Left to Right) Sister Smart, Sister Lara, Sister Affonso

We have an investigator named Dorival and he is super challenging because he asks a ton of questions. The day we did divisions our District Leader,  Elder Gomzalvez and Elder Ortiz went with us to help us to teach a lesson. After, Elder Gomzalvez told me to continue to believe in myself,  he said, "Sister Smart you need to continue to  believe in yourself  because I believe in you and see your potential and God believes in you. Continue to pray for something better, more powerful and more essential when teaching and the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, will provide. He will always give you what you need in the moment you need it. So I want you to believe in yourself use the Spirit and be happy!" Every time I see him he always asks me if I am happy and says , "Only joy Sister!" I know that God places people in our lives exactly when we need them. He is a great District Leader.

It's crazy how your mission allows you to believe you can accomplish and do anything - most of all have courage. There are so many things I am excited to achieve while here; a mission teaches you courage that's for sure.

The trucker strike is finally finished or over so there is food and gas again. Once the gas stations had gas again, it was chaos for miles and miles as people waited in line and argued to fill up their gas tanks. President Acosta warned us before it happened to buy three days worth of food and water so we had all the food and water we needed. He truly is inspired!

I can bear testimony that we are in a "battle" and the missionaries out here in the mission field are on the front lines. We have an investigator named Pablo and because of his friends that are disrespecting his decision to be baptized - trying to limit his desire; he isn't going to be baptized anytime soon. I hope and pray he will be baptized in the future.  He is young and has so much potential!  I know that these things happen because he truly is a special son of God and that he can be a strong and courageous member of the church and that Heavenly Father loves him.

I will keep growing, loving and pushing forward! There truly are miracles in each day! Love you all!

The Three Musketeers and Heroes!

I hope that all is going well for all of you and filled with blessings and joy. We had transfers this week and Sister Lara and I got a new companion. Her name is Sister Affonso. We are now a trio for a few weeks until her VISA comes for her to serve in Florida. We had another baptism this week for a fifteen year old girl named Luana! She lost her mom a few years ago and takes care of her siblings practically on her own and lives with her grandpa. She is extremely strong and serves others without a doubt in her mind. She loves God and thanks him for all of the things that she has. She knows that no matter what God is always there for her in every moment.
She takes care of her siblings most of the time . It was a happy and joyful day! The pictures are great too!

(Left to Right) - Two Elders, Sister Affonso, Luana, Sister Lara, Sister Smart.

"There once was a hero who fought for whats right 

the fires of hope burned deep within. She was a hero

you see, for she tried to do good. But like any other 

person alive she had fears and weaknesses too. 

Its truly unfortunate that you and I also do not know

her challenges for only our true hero knows. Our hero 

faced something terrible, the strength of it great

more dangerous than a tempest more deadly than

the sword. But for the sake of thought and a clear 

imagination her challenge shall be a storm of great

power. 

Our hero faced a challenge to succumb or to fight.

But as for you and I we do not yet know the heros

final move. But we do know this our hero is a hero of 

courage and hope. The fires within her were capable 

of burning bright. The reason we know not our heros final

move is that it has not yet been decided. In the end of the storm

and through the dark night our hero is actually you."

- Andrew Thomson

Luana's Baptism - A joyful Day!

I hope this is not the new mode of  transportation for missionaries.

Remember that each of you are a hero and have more strength than you know! I know that God is with us even in the darkest moments when we feel we have hit the very limit of what we can handle. He is even with us when we feel like we don't deserve His love and help. Just keep pushing forward because you truly are the hero of your own "happily ever after" God has created for you. Have an amazing week! I love you all! Thank you for your love, support and prayers!

Lehi's Vision and the Tree of Life.

This past week was a "roller coaster" I would say😏. We had a baptism this past week for a man named Roberto. He is about fifty-two and has two sons.  One son that served a mission here in Brazil named Rafael. Sister Lara has been teaching Roberto since she arrived, so about five months. He felt the Spirit during the missionary lessons and the truthfulness of what was taught  but didn't feel prepared to make the commitment of baptism. We ended up having a family home evening in President and Sister Acosta's home with Roberto and his son Rafael. We shared a lesson about Lehi's vision and the Tree of Life. President Acosta shared his testimony and answered Roberto's questions without even knowing his questions beforehand. He said, "We as humans tend to rationalize and think of reasons to not do something we know is right. But God asks us to have courage to stop procrastinating and do what we know God is asking of us." His testimony was incredibly strong and gave Roberto the confidence to be baptized! His son was able to baptize him on Sunday, May 20th and they hugged and cried tears of joy! I think I cried a little bit too! 😊 Roberto is going to be an amazing leader in the church. He is an amazing and strong man!

(Left to Right) - Rafael, Son; Sister Lara; Roberto, Father and Sister Smart 

At the family night I was able to try Brazilian pizza for the first time, its different that's for sure. The kind I tried was egg, ham and cheese. Surprisingly, my favorite, not too bad. 😊 See if my family can find it in the U.S. 😄

Brazilian Egg, Ham and Cheese Pizza

The past week we also visited Cris, Thaissa and little Mateus. Mateus said that I am his fourth girlfriend; so yeah to that. He is so cute and hilarious. Julia and Guillermi are less active members that have started coming back to church, they said I am their favorite missionary. I hope they continue being strong.

There was also this mom of a teenage boy that's a member that yelled at us in the community. She yelled at us that we were talking bad about her and that we were pointing at her. We told her that we didn't know her and had never seen her before. She then said, "Well you know and have seen me now so you better be careful." We talked with the son that's a member and he said that because of difficulties she can't think very well. I feel bad for her. The members in the community came after to make sure we were okay. I thought about my Savior. There were many people that yelled at him, persecuted and mocked him. I wasn't scared because I know the things I am doing are of God and I am not ashamed to represent my Savior, Jesus Christ. Having His name on my name tag is an honor.

Sister Lara and Sister Smart

We had transfers so I will now be in a trio with Sister Lara and Sister Alfonso. Sister Alfonso is waiting for her visa to go to Florida.

Have an awesome week. Wish me luck with my trio.

Faith and Testimony.

Hello from Brazil!
I hope everyone is doing well and life is fantastic!

I don't think I ever said it yesterday on the Skype call but HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!  I have the best mom in the world and she gives the best advice. It gives me strength! I loved talking to my family yesterday. I have the best family in the world and I am so glad we will be together forever!

Irmão Cuelio, a dear friend of mine here in Brazil said this quote to me the other day, "How  can you fail when you have so many people praying for you? You are on the Lords errand. He might let you fall but He will always help you back up." I am learning that the quote is true.

I feel that my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is stronger and grown a lot as I have been serving in Brazil. It was special to me to share it with my family on Mother's Day, May 13, 2018.
[Below is a link to a video excerpt via a Skype call of me sharing my testimony of the love I have for the Gospel of Jesus Christ; click the image or click here to watch the video clip.]

The other day we felt prompted to visit one of our investigators as we were walking to her house we passed a girl about twenty years old just sitting outside her house nearby. At the same time both Sister Lara and I turned around because we knew we had to talk to her. We taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel and she thanked us as we left. I really hope we can contact her in the future because we haven't been able to find her or contact her since our initial visit.

I learned this week that when we are trying our best to be righteous and obedient God will guide us. During zone conference with a member of the Seventy Elder Toledo told us, "If you aren't finding, teaching and baptizing you aren't serving a mission." So we feel a an urgency in our work.

This week we passed this guy riding a motorcycle dragging a piece of metal behind him. He had a roller blade attached to the metal expecting it to keep the metal from dragging on the ground...Obviously it didn't work people are really unique 😊.  On a more spiritual note:

There was this family we felt we needed to knock on their door. When we knocked we found a lady in a nurses uniform and a little bit after the lady that owned the house. She began to confide in us that her son had taken some medication incorrectly with alcohol and now he is unable to speak, walk or talk. He is kind of in a state of just existence but you can see how badly by his eyes he wants to talk and walk. The Elders gave him a priesthood blessing and I was hoping that somehow he would miraculously be healed but I learned an important lesson. God will only perform miracles according to our faith and according to His will. There is a scripture I like to use with our investigators (Book of Mormon) Ether 12:18. Verse 18, And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

Eating lunch with some member girls.

Hands with Thumbs to Side mean Baptism - "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," John 3:5.

Miracles are possible but we have to exercise our faith first and if its in His will He will give freely to him that asketh. 

Thanks for all of your prayers and support! - Sister Smart.

Motorcyle Noise and Listening with One's Heart

Yet another crazy week in Brazil!

During Sister companion splits/divisions (a time during the week when we have a temporary new companion or companions) this week I stayed in our area with two different Sisters. I learned so much! I was able to teach and make contacts with lots of people! Sister Lara said that usually the new companion of a Sister Training Leader (Sister Lara is a Sister Training Leader) will become a Sister Training Leader in the future. So we will see what happens with that. I don't know if I want that responsibility😊.

Sister Bortoluzzi and Sister Smart - Being crazy at Mcdonalds - (Companion Splits)

Sister Bortoluzzi and Sister Smart - Lunch at Mcdonalds - (Companion Splits)

We have an investigator named Gerlene that lives with a man named Dinho. Dinho is such a great person. We joke all the time and he makes fun of my accent when we visit them. He has a lot of struggles with addiction, specifically alcohol. When he is drunk he is not kind and doesn't treat Gerlene very well. On Tuesday this week we felt impressed to go and visit her. When we arrived she was incredibly sad because she wasn't feeling good and Dinho was out drinking with his friends and doing other not so good stuff. All we did for about two hours was sit and listen, and listen some more. We offered to curl her hair another day and visit some more. I really learned and gained a stronger testimony that day of the power of listening. We listened with our hearts not just our ears and her heart was healed even just for a brief moment.

When we were doing contacts in the community; this young Brazilian comes full on  up the street doing a wheelie on his motorcycle! His motorcycle was literally vertical in the air and the bottom made sparks on the ground as he was driving fast down the road. It scared us Sister missionaries! I hope he does not wreck.

We have an awesome investigator named Layani. One night as we were walking in the community we walked past her house and she was sitting outside on a chair reading the Gospel Principles book we gave her this past Sunday, May 6th. There is a bar right next to her house but she was just sitting there quietly reading not worrying about all the drunk people around her. She had amazing questions about the the Plan of Salvation, the kingdoms of glory and baptism. She is definitely a "diamond." Also, she is about to have a baby! She said that before knowing of the baby she drank and smoked but because of the baby she stopped. It's amazing how God has a plan that is different for each of us to help us come closer to Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Sister Lara said something this past week that has really inspired me! She said, "God is always just  in every circumstance. He is perfect. Both her and I chose in Heaven to serve here in Brazil and for us to be companions. There are people that we promised to find, so we need to go and find them."

The picture below is a picture from a family home evening we had with some young women and an amazing family in the ward! They are about to move to Canada which should be an adventure for them. Gabby, the mom wanted to talk to me about America. The topic of chocolate came up. Her and I concluded that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are literally a piece of "heaven." Wish we could find Reese's here in Brazil. She is a nurse which is pretty cool. She is hilarious! I love her!  The other boy in the picture is Cleverson. He is so kind.  He came up to me at church my first Sunday super enthusiastic and said,  "Hello Sister! I'm Cleverson! You are pretty great! We can be friends!"  Walking home from family night he completely "face planted himself." I laughed so hard. He told me that I'm not allowed to say anything, but I always tease him anyway.

Family Home Evening - Young boy, Cleverson with a frowning face!

My ankles and legs hurt but as the day goes on they stretch out and are okay. All the hills and walking are killer😏. The baptisms didn't work out this week. Thaissa's mom and brother don't really have a desire anymore. It makes my heart hurt 😢.

Thaissa's Baptism with mom, two brothers, Sister Lara, and Sister Smart.

Sister Smart being goofy with the children.

But we had six people at church which was fantastic! Probably not this week but next week we will have scheduled a few baptisms, especially this one man named Argusto; he is great!

Have a great week! Love, Sister Smart.