Families Can Be Together Forever

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween!

This week I really realized how much the gospel is such a blessing to families and how much it changes lives. We are teaching a woman with 6 children and it is absolutely wonderful to see the light in her children´s eyes as they learn more about the gospel. She and a few of her kids came to church yesterday, and it was great! We taught her yesterday about how our families can truly be united for eternity, and she was super excited. I know that the gospel is the most important thing that we can have in our lives. The teachings of Jesus Christ will solve any problem that we may have and we can confront any challenge with faith because of Him. It is so important for families to pray, read the scriptures, go to church, and talk about their faith together. It unifies us and helps us to love each other better. I am so grateful for my family and I know that the Lord loves everyone. He wants us all to enjoy the peace, joy, and hope that the gospel brings. Life is really hard sometimes, and no one wants to face it alone. Heavenly Father has given us the gift of family and friends to help us make it through. :)

Sister Dieter

This week has been full of some crazy thunderstorms and heat! We had a zone conference in Porto Alegre this week and got caught in a downpour on the way back from lunch! But it was a great conference and we learned a lot about the importance of optimism and being happy despite opposition. The Lord has a time and a plan for everything, and we don´t need to worry. Tudo vai dar certo has become my new motto...everything will be alright. I am learning more and more how little of the ´´big picture´´ I can see and how important it is to just trust in God and know that He knows everything and will take care of us. I read a great talk this week by President Monson called ´´Finding Joy in the Journey´´ (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng). I loved how he talked about focusing on the abundance that we have in our lives and not what we still feel that we lack. Having a spirit of gratitude always makes life happier! Something I learned even more this week is the importance of expressing love for those around you. People always say that it´s important to show your love because you never know when the last time you´ll see someone is. This is true, but even more you should always express your love and appreciation because you never know when that person may be absolutely needing to hear it! Most often, we feel the love of God through the words and actions of those around us. He uses others to help us and we can be used by Him too! President Monson spoke in his talk about how you will never regret an expression of love and gratitude. He gave a great quote too that says, ´´They do not love that do not show their love.´´ 

This week we started teaching two great people. They both have amazing questions about their purpose in life and how to change and become better for their families. I love being able to feel the Spirit and really feel like I am helping someone improve their life. It is such a blessing to be a missionary and it is definitely worth all the challenges and hard times. I love the gospel and I love my Savior. He knows me so well and helps me every day. 

Boa semana!

Sister Dieter

Milagres e Paciência

Oi tudo mundo! Overall it was a great week. We had some interesting experiences...including getting stuck in the rain without umbrellas or anything! The weather lately has been crazy -- rain, sun, wind, heat, cold, all in one day!! We had a great conference with our zone and another one. Both zones make up a stake (a region made up of different congregations of the church) and we are working to divide it into 2 stakes! I feel so privileged to be here at this time to help the church grow in this area and to bring families to the knowledge of the gospel! It´s slow going, but the Lord gathered His sheep one by one so I know it will all work out with time. 

We finally got in contact with Cíntia again!! She was really sick and Satan was working hard on her to stop learning about the gospel, but she persevered! We taught her about the Word of Wisdom this week and she is working to quit smoking! She has already gone from 10+ cigarrettes in one day to just 1-2, all in the span of this week!! Que maravilhoso! She is very excited and her boys have decided that they want to learn more too. I love working with families and helping them to come closer to God and each other through the gospel. 

We also had a really interesting experience yesterday. We went to teach a couple who are very active in their church. So active in fact that he is a preacher. But we just testified to them of what we know and invited them to learn more. They aren´t interested right now, but they remarked at how impressed they were by meeting with us and how they appreciated our love and respect for them. I really appreciated the respect they showed towards us as well and that we were able to leave in disagreement, but still with love, respect, and friendship (and cake that she made for us!). If only every disagreement in the world could end that way! :) Things aren´t easy, but I know that every effort to serve the Lord is worth it. 

Sister Dieter

Fotos: Síster Olarte and I eating xis-burgers! 

It Will All Work Out!

This week I learned a lot about the importance of just doing your best and letting the Lord work out the details. We had a lot of things not work out how we would have liked this week, including one investigator who was super excited to get baptized and is now avoiding us! But, I know from experiences past that these things happen and we just need to be patient. The Lord is in control and things always will work out how He needs them to be. Often times in our lives we think that we have the perfect plan for how things need to be. We have goals and dreams that are righteous and good, but sometimes they don´t happen as planned, or at all. We may begin to wonder why we must experience such difficulty and strife. I know that I have often thought before, ´´I´m doing what I´m supposed to be doing and making good choices, why can´t what I want to happen just work out how I want it to??`` But luckily, the Lord knows more than we do and He always provides a way for His will to be done. Our ´´best case scenario´´ usually pales in comparison to what He has planned for us. It definitely is a huge test of faith to keep trusting in His will when it seems like we are just being denied from what we want. But I know that it will always work out for the best. The Lord loves us perfectly and He knows how much we can handle. He knows our challenges and the experiences that we need to have to reach our full potential. Though we may feel like we can´t do it, He knows that we can. His timing is perfect and if we are willing to listen, He will always lead us in the right direction. I know that the Lord knows all of us personally and He loves us perfectly. I don´t quite understand how He could possibly be so patient and forgiving when His children repeatedly make wrong choices. But He is. Even when we feel like we don´t deserve His blessings or love, He is always there to give it. All we have to do is allow Him to help us by striving to follow His plan. He has given us the gospel of Jesus Christ to help us navigate this life of challenges and confusion. Those who are faithful will find immense happiness and joy, even in the midst of trial and challenges. I was so grateful to be reminded of this repeatedly this past weekend during General Conference. It was great to hear the messages of our prophet and other church leaders. I know that they are inspired of God and that the messages they shared are specific to our day. I know that the church of Jesus Christ truly was restored to the Earth and that God still speaks with us today. He hasn´t abandoned us and never will! :)

Love, Sister Dieter

A Constant Friend

Oi tudo mundo!

This has been a great week! On Tuesday I went to Porto Alegre to meet my new companion, Sister Olarte! She is new to the mission, fresh out of the MTC in São Paulo! She is 21 years old and is from Lima, Peru. She is the only member of the church in her family and only joined the church about 2 years ago. She has a lot of faith and I am learning a lot from her humble example. As you can probably imagine, it´s pretty funny sometimes for an American who speaks English and a Peruvian who speaks Spanish to be living together speaking Portuguese. But the Lord performs miracles every day and I can really feel Him helping us out in our work! We saw a lot of progress this week here!

Biggest miracle of the week: Cíntia!! 

We´ve been visiting Cíntia for over a month now and she´s always been interested in learning more and participating in the church, but she didn´t feel like she was ready to be baptized yet. This week we had a great lesson with her and she told us how she´s been thinking and thinking and she has decided that she really does want to get baptized! I can´t wait for November 8th! :)

Something that I learned this week even more is the importance of having the Holy Spirit with you. Everything in the gospel is centered around Jesus Christ and being able to have the Spirit in your life. Every commandment is meant to just help us invite the Spirit and be worthy to receive the guidance of the Lord. The Spirit helps us to feel peace, happiness, joy, love, patience, inspiration, everything good in the world, really. These feelings help us to recognize what is right and make good decisions that will bring more happiness and joy. I know that as we do the little things --- pray daily, read the scriptures, go to church, keep the commandments --- we are inviting the Spirit of God to dwell with us. We are inviting Him to be our constant companion in our daily life. With the presence of the Spirit, we can do whatever the Lord has asked of us.

Love, 

Sister Dieter

Power in Positivity

Oi tudo mundo! 

This week I have learned a lot about the importance of just doing your part and letting the Lord make up the rest. As we are happy, positive, and diligent, He can perform miracles in our lives and the lives of others!! We had a great experience this week with 2 of our investigators. They both have been learning for over a month now, but have never been able to come to church or an activity. But this week, they both came to a baptism!! Cíntia is a mother of 3 who is recently getting herself out of a life of drugs and taking responsibility for her life. She is so humble and ready to change. She felt at peace at the baptism and recognized the Spirit there. Now, she really wants to make it to church. It is amazing to see the power of the Spirit touching a person´s heart. The other investigator, Letícia, is a 17 year old girl who is ´´married´´ to a 30-something year old druggie and she has a baby with him. Her life is pretty crazy right now and she is trying to figure out what she wants to do. After the baptism, she was so excited and asked us, ´´What do I need to do to get baptized??`` I know that as we have faith, do our part, and think positive, the Lord performs miracles. We are all children of God and His purpose for us here is to help us find eternal happiness and joy. 

Also, news of the week: My companion is getting transferred and I will be staying here. I will be training a new sister here in the mission field! I am constantly amazed by how much the Lord stretches me in this work, but I know from experience that as we trust in Him and do His will, all will work out just fine! I am grateful to be serving the Lord at this time and to be a witness of His power and love. How have you felt the Lord´s love for you this week? How will you help someone else feel it? :)

Sister Dieter

Just a Small Part

This week was another challenging one, but I learned a lot. It rained a lot and our investigators decided to not be at home whenever we passed by...but we are working a lot more with the members here and have plans to find other people to teach! I was grateful for the opportunity to go to the temple as well. We had our first English class this week and it went very well! I love being able to help people learn and share what I know with them. It was also great to see a less-active man and his step-daughter who we´ve been visiting there at the class! 

A major tender mercy of the week was our visit with Irmã Delma and Irmão Antonio! They are an elderly couple who haven´t been to church in a few years because she is basically homebound and he needs to stay there to take care of her. But, they are so sweet and such an example to me. Though they can´t make it to church, every Sunday they have their own little meeting and pray, sing hymns together, and read and discuss the scriptures. It´s sweet to see the true companionship they have and the immense faith and patience they have with the will of the Lord. She is literally constantly in pain, but is also constantly smiling and talking about how good God is and how grateful she is for her blessings. It makes me realize how minor my concerns are and how important it is to just be positive and happy. Life is hard, but we have hope in Christ. Every challenge has purpose and it is through these challenges that we grow and change. It´s not ever comfortable to experience change, but I know that the Lord is with us in every trial and that He understands our pain. He felt everything that we feel and He knows how to help us if we will let Him. I love this scripture in 1 Peter 2:19-21 about being a disciple of Christ.

19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.

How will you follow in His steps this week?

Love, Sister Dieter