White Christmas

So it's been snowing....ASH! There are tons of fires nearby in our area and we get covered in ash as we're walking so it looks like it's snowing! Merry Christmas!!

This week was awesome!!!

So first, Maria. We've been teaching her for a looong time now and in 8 weeks, she hadn't read the Book of Mormon or come to church and we were literally about to drop her but we invited her to read the Book of Mormon one last time. We went back on Saturday and SHE READ IT! And she went onto lds.org to find bigger letters for her to read. She told us that now, she doesn't want to put it down! We taught her a lesson about Alma 32 and how she needs to keep nourishing the "seed" that she planted. She still won't come to church but she's showing interest and desire now! PACIÊNCIA! Oh and I always joke with her that God sent her some really annoying little girls to help her and she always just laughs. But when she prayed and the end of the lesson she said how grateful she is for us and how she knows that we're not annoying and that we're just doing our role as missionaries. LOVE HER!

Friday, we went with one of the Stake Couselors, Presidente Jaime Azevedo, in Ermesinde so that he could show us some old investigators and less actives. We ended up going to an old folks home and we're going to do a Halloween activity with them! Woot woot! Finally got over my fear of old people :)

Found an amazing family on Friday too!! We felt like we should start knocking a road on our way to our next appointment and rang the doorbell of an apartment building. A lady answered and we asked if we could say a prayer for them and she totally said yes! We went in and taught about how important Christ is for our families. Mia, the mom, just got separated from her husband and has two kids. She told us how she just wants her family to feel united and to get back on their feet again. She was so excited when we said we wanted to come back. As we left, she told us that she felt like her spiritual battery was recharged :)

Funny story.. We went to a Pingo Doce to grab a snack and use the bathroom. Sister Mortensen goes and uses the bathroom first and then tells me that there is no more toilet paper and that the toilet doesn't flush. So the only other bathroom is the men's. So... I go in. As I was in there, I hear talking outside the door and I got kinda worried. Then as I leave, there's a teenage boy standing outside and we awkwardly look at each other and then Sister M and I leave laughing our heads off. She then told me that she tried to convince him to leave by saying that the person in the bathroom was going to take a LONG time. He didn't want to leave though and she couldn't think of anything else to say. Let's just say that Presidente Amorim put the two most awkward sisters in the mission together...

Our area is really catching fire in terms of the missionary work AND geographically.. So grateful to be here with Sister Mortensen. She is INCREDIBLE and is exactly what I need. Pray for us and our investigators!

BEIJINHOS GRANDES!

Sister Hillam