looking up

Querida família,
This week was pretty great! We tripled our church attendance! (Not hard to do when you only have one in church... Then again if we had only had zero it would have been even easier to triple that!) But the whole week has been full of miracles. Two of our investigators are marked to be baptized in the coming weeks, and we have a few more with a lot of potential. If you want to pray for anyone: Jorge (marked for baptism but he is on kidney dialysis and he might not be able to put his foot in the water because of surgery), Amilton (also marked but he gets huge migraines), Maria do Céu (needs to quit smoking), and Maria do Carmen (she is awesome. She came to church yesterday. She just needs an answer about the book of Mormon).
We went on a division to Lapa again. I stayed with Sister Austin. She is really fun. I forgot my camera but I´ll send some pictures next week. We had a lesson with a recent convert Paula--which was awesome because on my last division in Lapa, Sister Call and I marked her for baptism. We also had a lesson with Luana, the girlfriend of a member. We marked her to get baptized! Lapa is a really fun area. And Sister Austin was so loving and taught with the Spirit really strong. I think I learn more from these divisions than the other sisters do.
On Saturday was our pancake party! I think we made more than 200 pancakes. We were in the kitchen for six hours... (that was kind of frustrating because everyone left hte missionaries to clean up alone and that took three hours). But I think it was a success. Everyone wanted the recipe! We had a few investigators and more than 10 recent converts there. But I never want to see another pancake again.
Yesterday in church teh first counselor in the bishopric gave a sweet talk. He talked about how a few years ago he got depression. He said it was a "hole so dark that no light could penetrate", but that finally, three things saved him. 1. The faith of his wife. 2. His home teachers who came by and asked what he needed. and 3. Seeing his sleeping baby at 3 a.m. I thought it was interesting that the most important things to help us face our future are our families, and our home and visiting teachers. Before my mission I never really understood why they were so important but now I am going to do it every month, even if I have to go alone. So if you didn´t go in April, go in May :)
Besides that, we cleaned out our house this week. There was so much random stuff left behind by the elders... Some things we found: A giant wooden spoon (3 feet), some underwear, a million plastic bags, boxes of magazines, painting supplies, a gutter replacement, lightbulbs, and an electric generator.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! And a great fast Sunday.
Love you tons!!
Sister Gidney

Odivelas Hotel

Ola família!
We didn´t email earlier today because we had interviews! (On P-day, yep. At least we still have email time). Anyway. This week was a pretty good start to the transfer. We didn´t have to much time to feel lonely in our "new" house, because the first four nights we had at least two sisters sleeping over. (We are the closest sister house to the mission office with space for visitors).Usually they called us about ten minutes before bed time to inform us. And a half hour later for directions. So we have lovingly re-named our apartment "Odivelas Hotel". Funcioning hours: any day, any time. Too bad we don´t have any of those little soaps...
Some of the highlights from this week:
Maria do Céu: We had a lesson with her and were talking about her quitting smoking (of course) and she ended up telling us her life story--how she used to be an alcoholic but she quit and she said "If I could do that, then I can quit smoking. Especially with the power of God. Because I know that this is what he wants me to do."
Jorge: We have this nice investigator who is getting kidney dialysis so we can´t meet with him very often. BUT we passed by on WEdnesday to see how he is doing and he had read the lesson pamphlet we gave him. He opened his door and said "Oh! I wanted to ask, can I start coming to church? I want to come every week. Also this pamphlet talked about a Book, can I have that too? Mormon or something?" We were like, ummm yes you can. And then we asked if he wanted to get baptized. He said "Yeah I would like that". Sooo now we just have to help him find a way to church because he got foot surgery.
Deep: We had a MEGA lesson and taught him ALL of the commandments--we had already taught the word of wisdom, but we taught the rest, because he said "I want to know all the rules". Before we left, he flushed his cigarettes down the toilet and said he was quitting. The only problem... He is moving to Belgium. Tomorrow. Well. Good reference for the missionaries there.

A scripture that I read during personal study and really liked: D&C 101:55,61-62. I really like that the servants are called "the warriors of the Lord". Not only are the missionaries the Lord´s warriors, but really ALL of the members of the church are. And the Lord has covenanted with us that if we are wise and faithful (notice it does NOT say perfect) then we will become rulers over many things ou seja joint heirs with Christ. THe other part I like is that the servant went STRAIGHTAWAY but the things were not fulfilled until AFTER MANY DAYS. Sometimes we are working and working and working and nothing is happening but as we stretch ourselves every single day to find new ways to show our faith and grow our faith, eventually the promise will be fulfilled. :)
I also liked today in my interview. I was talking to President about some of the difficulties we have been having and he said that our district is "four of the best missionaries our mission has to offer" and that he knows we can do the work that is here for us. So it was really nice how supportive he was.

Other stuff:
I got my first sunburn this week! In the morning I felt like I should find my sunscreen and use it but we were late so I just ignored it and then I got ROASTED. That´s the last time I don´t listen to the Spirit.

We saw a lady stealing flowers out of people´s front yards. She saw that we saw and said "God forgive me, I´m going to give them to mother Mary." How ironic.
An old man: "Ola vocês são bonitas! I love you!" (he said that part in english. then tried to kiss us.)
That´s about it for this week. Easter was wonderful (they gave us chocolate at church). I love you all bunches. Hang in there, Heavenly Father is preparing you for a great ending! Happy week!
Love you TONS,
Sister Gidney

transfer 8, check

Querida família,
Transfer news:
Sister Derrick and I are both staying!
The other sisters´ area is CLOSING. Now it will just be me and my comp in our house. Weird.
The elder who got emergency trasnferred out four weeks ago came back and is with the elder who got emergency transferred IN two weeks ago. Complicated.

So I am going to tell you about a couple of the people we are teaching.
Quen Ling Deep. He goes by Deep. He is half Chinese half Mozambiquan. He was one of the ones taught by the elders 20 years ago. We have been reteaching the lessons and he came to general conference and to church yesterday. The only problem is he smokes. So we are helping with that. But he really loves learning the gospel.
Maria do Céu (mary from heaven). She is this little old lady who was a reference from her neighbor. We have been helping her to quit smoking (everyone and their dog smokes here) and the elders gave her a blessing a few days ago. She really wants to improve her life and her daughter´s life. We were talking about the changes she has to make and she said "Yeah but no worries. It´s the will of God so I will succeed." We are hoping her health problems will ease up enough for her to come to church this week.

Funny events from the week:
Flying noodles: Yesterday we were walking down the street when some chinese noodles came FLYING out of a third floor window above us. We dodged out of the way and they splatted to the ground.
Members gone wild: We had a lesson with a very well-meaning member the other day who ended up walking home the same direction as our investigator. We didn´t know until church when the member told us the conversation they had... Basically the member told this investigator about temple sealings, baptisms for the dead, and the Douctrine and Covenants. And then said "but you two should probably pray for guidance on how to clear up his confusion about those things in your next lesson". ...Thanks. Please, if you are helping the missionaries, keep your teaching SIMPLE. Talk about the Book of Mormon before you go off about temple convenants.

My transfer scripture for this new transfer is D&C 84:81-84. I just really like it. Also it´s funny because basically it says "tomorrow will be bad enough for itself, just worry about today today and leave tomorrow for tomorrow." That´s one thing I have been working on--not worrying about the future, just taking it one day at a time. And it helps a lot! So there is my advice.
Yep so I am going to have at least six more weeks here in Odivelas. Three more transfers after this one!
Love you all tons---Happy Easter this Sunday!
Com amor,
Sister Gidney

Conference

Ola família,
I love General Conference! What was your favorite talk and why?
This week has been full of ups and downs.
The downs:
--My companion and I were told that we haven´t been working hard enough, because we haven´t had a baptism yet. That was sad because we are working our hardest but people kind of have to WANT to live the gospel.
--We were teaching this really really wonderful woman and we went over on Saturday to mark her to be batised but she said she can´t come anymoe because her husband is too Catholic to let her.
The ups:
--We had a lesson with this woman Maria who we met last week. We were teaching about the gospel of Christ. She said she would pray to confess her sins to God and ask forgiveness. Then when we talked about baptism, she said" I think my baptism was valid but... I think I´d like it to be MORE valid". We just said "God would like that as well".
--We met several people who met the elders 20 years ago. They have verse-less Book of Mormons and also remembered the name "Jospeh Smith". I guess those flip-charts were good for memory.
--We got McDonald´s and PIzza Hut (on different days)
--We got to watch a session of General Conference at the mission home! We also had a meal. There were about 18 missionaries there. It was fun. Also it was the first time I ahve walked on real carpet in a year.
The in-betweens:
--The elders had a baptism and he was too tall and he ended up having to repeat 4 times.
--I hit a year? I don´t know how I feel about that.
I really liked General Conference! Especially Elder Ballard´s about follow-up. So I´m goign to follow up with you if you are reading Preach My Gospel? Let me know how it goes :)
We had a bunch of meetings this week so not much else happened! I hope Emily had a great birthday :) and that you are all doing well.
Next general conference I´ll be sitting on our couch!
Love you all tons!
Com amor,
Sister Gidney

cows and the sea

Ola família!
This week was pretty crazy--we spent half of it in the middle of the ocean! We left Wednesday morning for the Azores and didn´t get back until LATE Friday night. The islands were wonderful. Basically they are just little green hills in the middle of the ocean, covered with cows. I´ll attach a picture.

It was really wonderful to see how Heavenly Father took care of our area even though we couldn´t be here for a lot of the week. On Tuesday we were able to work with a LOT of members--we had more lessons with a member that day than all of last week combined.
On Tuesday we saw yet again the hand of the Lord protecting His missionaries. We were walking from part of our area to the capela for a lesson. We were as little late so we decided to cut through this little nieghborhood that we had only been through once, in the daylight. We were walking through, pretty quickly, when a group of young men called out "Oh Elders!" they kept calling but we just kept walking. As we entered the last little alleyway, there was another girl who came up behind us. One of the young men ran over and jumped on her, trying to steal her bag. Luckily another man was coming up the other way and helped her. It was literally 2 feet away from being me or my companion, but it wasn´t. And that girl is okay, don´t worry.
The Açores were so much fun. I loved working with the sisters there. On Wednesday we went to Ponta Delgada. I was with Sister Bos. We met a lot of people and also explored some new parts of the area. I was really impressed with her and her companion. They are really good friends and are just happy all the time. On the contrast, our next division was in Angra. The sisters there were stressed out about their companionship and their area. We tried to help them calm down a little bit, especially about the things that they can´t control. Basically what I learned this week is we all just need to relax a little. Do what you can do, and then let go of the rest. "it is not meet than a man should run faster than he has strength". And I am trying to apply that in our area because I feel like we are trying and trying but nothing is happening. But I don´t feel upset about it because we are doing our part. And we just have to let go of the things we can´t control. Because no amount of stressing will give us control over them.

On the islands, we met a lot of Americans. They told us we "look Mormon". I think that is a good thing maybe.
Also on Ponta Delgada the accent is SO weird. It is like French or something. It was fun to listen to. Less fun to understand.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!! I can´t believe you will be 14.
I hope you all enjoy General conference this weekend! It is going to be wonderful.
I love you all tons! Here are some pictures of the trip :)
Com amor,
Sister Gidney

St. Patrick´s.. .Week?

Ola família!
It was a pretty good week. Here´s an overview.
--During P day I cut my companion´s hair. Don´t tell her mom. It looks fine.
--We went up to this area called Arroja for an evening. We passed by a family, the one with the massage boy, and tried to teach them but the dad was drunk and so he just kept talking louder and louder saying the same things over and over so we just left. You can´t have the Spirit like that. BUT afterwards we went to have a noite familiar with a part member family and it was AWESOME. The ward secretary lives with his cousin and her five kids. The oldest boy is a member as well (he is the teachers´ quorum president) and he has been asking his mom when she is going to get baptized! We are really excited to help him help her.
--We were visiting a little neighborhood before another appointment that you have to take the bus to. So we were about to leave the area but then this man stopped us and told us his neighbor really needed spiritual help. So we obviously went to talk to her. She was really nice and open and has a really kind heart and we set up another appointment. We finally left two minutes before the bus was to arrive a ten minute wakl away. So what did we do? We ran. Well first we were locked in the yard so instead of finding someone to open the gate we hopped the wall (it was only like 5 feet) and then we just ran. Luckily it was downhill. We got to the stop just as the bus arrived. Just call us Sister Indiana Jones.
--I got asked if I was Brazilian!!! That means that I have an accent but I speak Portuguese well, and also that I am not blinding pasty white anymore.
--I also got asked if I am 17 years old. Almost.
--A member asked us if we could babysit. "No it is against our rules." "But the bishop said you could!" "Ummm... No. This is a rule from the prophet, not the bishop" "Oh... The prophet."
--On Saturday, we were walking to a cmopromisso when we saw a woman leaning out of her apartment window on the first floor. We tried talking to her, but she wasn´t interested, so we asked if she knew anyone who needed spiritual help. She thought for a moment and then gave us the name of her neighbor and explained the situation. She opened the apartment door for us to go up and talk to the woman, Maria do Céu. Maria was warm and inviting, let us in, and now wants us to teach her daughter as well. All from an uninterested lady in a window!
--We had a division in Lapa. That area was suepr pretty, and also HAS THOSE LITTLE TROLLEY TRAM THINGS. We rode one and it was amazing. I was with Sister Call. She was so wonderful. I had a great day and learned a lot from her, especially about how to recognize the Spirit and how to love everyone.
--The sewer up the street exploded. It was spraying like a fountain and running down the street. Smelled pretty bad.
On that note, I hope you all have a wonderful week. It sounds like things are going well and that everyone is being super awesome. Keep on doing the right things okay? I love you TONS.
Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Don´t worry, you´re not old yet.
Com muito amor,
Sister Gidney
P.s. Me with Sister Call.

P.p.s. Going to the Açores this week!

Division one, check

Hey there família,
It was a good week! We ate some ice cream and a fartura, so there is no way it wasn´t good. We had a division with the sisters who we live with. I went with Sister Anderson. We had a really fun day getting to know each other better and making some goals for our work. And I learned SO much! More than I have ever learned in any other division. I realized some things I can do to improve, and it was really fun too :)
What else happened this week... oh one of our elders got emergency transferred. He was here one day and the next he was just gone. I guess it was kind of like what it will be like at the second coming. It will just, happen.
We had a huge combined zone conference on wednesday! I saw everyone! Sister Cutler and Sister Bollinger and a bunch of elders from the MTC or other districts. It was really fun and also a really good meeting. AND they gave us lunch.
So a lot of our investigators have kids with autism. Not a lot, but 2. We went over to one on Saturday, and their boy, who is twelve, is in this give-everyone-massages phase. UNfortunately, that is very much against mission rules, so we had a fun game of cat-and-massage-mouse while we taught.
Last night we visited one of our Cabo Verdian investigators. Her name is Dulce and she is wonderful. She was cooking dinner for her and her son, and she invited us to stay and eat. We tried to refuse because they didn´t have much food but she insisted. She served us first, leaving less for herself. It was one of the most... selfless things I have ever seen. I was so grateful the whole time. It is amazing how these people have so little physically, but give SO much. And in return, will recieve even more blessings. She has a lot of qualities I want to develop.
Besides that, it was a normal week. No one showed up to church, s today and tomorrow we´re gonig to visit the 15 people who said they would come and see what´s going on. Hopefully we can help them.
I hope you all have a wonderful st patrick´s day!! I love you tons :)
Com amor,
Sister Gidney
pictures-me with Sisters Cutler Bollinger and Anderson