Guaíba!

Oi tudo mundo! Estou aquí em minha primeira área do Brasil. I had an amazing experience in the CTM in São Paulo and am learning a lot here. The first day in the mission was zone conference, so I went straight to that and then stayed with some sisters in the city. The next day was the zone conference for the sisters who are my companions now, so I went to zone conference again and met my companions there. But, I couldn´t get a ride with all of my suitcases to my first area until the next day, so I stayed with a different set of sisters and worked in their area with them. Finally, I got here in Guaíba on Friday! It was a bit crazy but I am grateful to be here in my area with Sister Luana and Sister Nadal finally. They are great! Sister Luana is a Brazilian from Salvador and she will be finishing up her mission in September. Sister Nadal is from Pennsylvania and has been out for about 6 months. They both have been very patient and kind as I learn and adjust to everything! So my first area is called Guaíba and it is about an hour away from Porto Alegre. It´s the smallest area in the mission geographically and covers about 3 barros, which are like neighborhoods. We walk everywhere and get to meet a lot of nice people on the streets. We have a lot of investigators that we are working with and the ward is very helpful too. I am learning a lot about the culture and the people here. It´s very friendly and open and people are so loving. It´s hard not being able to understand a lot yet, but I am slowly but surely figuring things out. I know that as I do my best and trust in the Lord, He will help me to be able to do whatever is required of me. I was so grateful to be able to go to the temple last week in São Paulo. It gave me a lot of peace and an opportunity to remember that the Lord has a plan and we are never alone. I am grateful to be here in Brazil and for the opportunity I have to serve the people here. :)

 

Com amor,

Sister Dieter

PS: With the accent here, I am now Sister ``gee-eh-ter´´ haha :)

Brasil!!

Oi tudo mundo!

 

So I have like 5 minutes to write this email...but I am here in Brazil and I am doing well! I leave for Porto Alegre on Tuesday, and I am so excited! It has been wonderful to be here at the CTM in Sao Paulo and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve here! All of my instructors are brasileiros and most of the other missioanaries are Brazilian or Hispanic. I love it! The culture is so open and loving and I am loving Portuguese more and more! My district is all former visa waiters and we've all served for quite a bit of time so we are just trying to translate everything we know how to do into Portuguese. :) But it is amazing and I am so grateful to be a missionary!! I love the gospel and getting to learn about it and teach it to others in Portuguese just brings an even stronger Spirit. I was grateful to be able to go to the Sao Paulo temple this morning and get a wonderful reminder of how important this life really is. We all have a purpose and God has a plan for everyone. I know that everything works out as we strive to follow God's will. Love you all!! I'll send pictures next week when I have more time!! :)

 

Sister Dieter

God Loves Everyone

Oi, minha familia e amigos! :) Here I am on the 11 month mark of my mission and it is my last day here in North Carolina. I can't even begin to explain the mixed feelings going on in my mind and heart right now! I am so grateful for all that I have been able to learn and experience here and the wonderful people I have been able to serve among. I love the South and will forever love the people of NC. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me in Brazil and the work that He has for me to do there.

This week we had an amazing miracle! About 2 months ago, we got a referral from mormon.org from this woman who requested to have missionaries come and teach her. We were very excited! We met her once and she was so ready to learn. But, after that initial visit we lost contact and were unable to see her again. The other day, we had a feeling that we needed to stop by and see her again. She wasn't home, so we left a note. Well, she called us back and was very excited to meet! We taught her 3 times last week and she is excited to get baptized in August!! She also came to church and loved it. She told us that she would be there every week from now on. She had a lot of great questions and comments at church and everyone there seemed to love her. She even requested a blessing to help her quit smoking. She is amazing. It makes me wonder what would have happened if we didn't listen to that feeling that we had to stop by and see her. It was just a subtle feeling, but so much came of it by listening. It makes me want to listen more to the feelings and promptings of the Spirit because we never know what miracles can come from seemingly trivial ideas. Even if we personally don't understand why we need to do it, or even if it seems so crazy and random, if the Lord wants us to do it we need to get it done! Luckily, He knows that we aren't perfect at that and He makes a way for us to learn and do better. But I am so grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. It will lead us in all things as we rely on the Lord to direct our paths. I also just want to testify that I know that God loves all of us individually and He knows us personally. He forgives us and wants to help us overcome our weaknesses step by step. I know that He not only wants us to love others, but to love ourselves too. Someone said something at church that hit me: "God loves us no matter how much we feel like we don't deserve it." You are always loved and are never alone!! :)

Sister Dieter