#beuraremaforlyfe

July 14, 2014

Our Pday adventure

A couple hundred feet from our house.

Wellllll Im still here in Buerarema, with the same companion. So thats uneventful. I was really expecting to leave since its so tiny here and Sister Smith has never had the same companion more than a transfer. Soooo not gonna lie I was a little dissappointed but after a lot of prayer Im feeling good. The Lord let me know that at the end of the transfer I'll be glad I stayed. 

I really do love all the people here a lot, they are like sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles. 

This Sunday we had church at 9 oclock because of the final world cup game. At 7:45 the other Sisters went to set it up and found that the lock on the school had been changed..... Yep, the director changed the lock and didnt say a word. We went to all the people we could think of in the town who might have a key but no luck. We even went to the Catholic church in hopes that she was there. At 8 45 we decided it was going to have to be down the street a little ways in a parking lot under a tree. We left some members at the school to direct people there and had a ledge and 10 plastic chairs that we borrowed from a bar across from the school. We actually had a really good amount of investigators there, some that it was there first time. I pray they can trust that its not usually that crazy and unorganized. I always wanted to have church under a tree but the grass is always greener... There was a man and a woman who wouldnt leave! They were both drugged and one kept singing Catholic songs and yelling about how he was a sinner as he smoked a cigarette. Im not sure what the woman was saying but she was sitting right behind the front where the speakers were. But hey, at the end of the day, we took the sacrament and nothing is going to stop us. 

I know it happened because really good things are happening here right now. We're sooo close to being a branch and getting a real place to meet. We saw a lot of miracles this week in both areas, especially with finding less active members and golden investigators. Ivan and Lucia have a nephew who came to our fhe the other week and has been obsessed with the church ever since! He should be getting baptized this week. Satan always works the hardest when the best things are on the verge of happening. But the work of the Lord moves forward, his power is much much stronger, and our little group will be too after these trials. 

Obrigada por todo o apoio e oraçoes! 

Amoooo voces! 

Seester Scheevens

Holidays and missionary work don't mix.

July 7, 2014

Well it was another eventful week in Buerarema. 

Tuesday was a joke because of the game. It really is a national holiday here everytime Brazil plays. The world shuts down ALL day, and after there is a party all night. Soooo many bombs and fireworks in the street. But our President made us switch our study from the morning to the night when we had to be in during the game so we had to be out of the house at 8 in the morning so that was new. We woke everyone up because we had nothing else we could do and no warning! They told us to fill our morning hours 10 oclock the night before. That was my Fourth of July too. Im ready for the holidays to be over. Bahia is lazy in the first place, Bahia with all these holidays is killin us. Since Brazil won the dont start school for a whole other week.

But really the thing that dominates the week is that the Dad of our recent converts Tiago and Elvis was brutally murdered by indians. Sometimes I wonder what year Im living in here. It´s actually not a really rare thing here, there´s a war between the people who live in Beurarema and have land in the surrounding areas and the indians who think all the land is theirs. Ive spent a lot of time in that house so I knew him, he almost broke my hand one time.. on purpose! Elvis was there with him but didn´t see much because he had to run to save his own life. Its soooo sad because there´s Elvis and Tiago and 6 more kids under the age of 12. So we spent a lot of time with them this week. It´s really cool because Tiago is really quiet and shy, and before baptism never religious but he stepped up and has been ministering to his family about how Christ suffered a lot more and how the Lord is going to deliver them of their afflictions. What a champ! I have really felt my testimony of the Plan of Salvation grow. Not just the power of the Atonement and resurrection of the Savior but of how God has a specific and merciful plan for everyone. I dont think it´s a coincidence that Tiago and Elvis learned about the gospel and plan of salvation just 3 months before this tragic event happened. 

Since everyone knows everyone here we´ve been taking the opportunity to teach the plan of salvation and temples and how families can be eternal. It´s been really good! For our investigators and recent converts! 

Well today is transfers but I dont find out until 6 oclock... the minute proselyting starts.... I dont know how that sounds like a good idea to anyone but whatever... 5 more hours! 

Te amoooo!

Seester Scheevens 

World Cup

June 30, 2014

It was a party week. Two days of world cup and a whole lot of São João, and São Pedro. Literally everyone was at the festa for São João and it was real hard to not feel absolutely useless following up on people who all were either at the big city party, having their own party  or drunk. But I think yesterday was the last day of that thankfully. Everyone looked at us like whaaat are they doing... Sorry we dont get holidays! The holidays are also slowing down the marriage process for our investigators because all the city buildings have been closed. We´re reeaaally praying for at least 3 of the 4 marriages to happen in July. 

Good news.... It is likely that I will get to watch the next Brazil World Cup game!!!!! 

Now for bad news. Amulek--- Inasio´s wife gave us this fruit that I see in peoples houses but never tried called Jabujicaba, well I was real excited and Sister Smith and I were eating a few and decided to take some to the other sisters and when Sister Muller bit into it she spit it out and said, "Sisters! Estes tem alcohol!" apparently she had been soaking them in some kind of alcohol to preserve them.... The ridiculous things that happen here dont end! I have no idea what she was thinking... it might have been on purpose cause shes a reeaal hard core Catholic. 

We allllmost had a baptism this week. Ew. Those are maybe my least favorite words. What good is it when someone almost enters the gate to salvation? Well the point is I think that Heavenly Father was working as hard on him as we were. He was going through with it all week after this really powerful lesson we had. He had the interview, we were following up everyday, we fasted and everything. The day the baptism fell through I read Alma 42:27. 

We have been searching out a lot of recent converts and less active members. It´s sad that there is a good list of recent converts that I´ve never met. We have been putting them first instead of putting finding new investigators first and it is sooo cool. We have had no problem getting the rest of our numbers in when we put them first and make an effort every day to work with them. Its a testimony that the church really has to be strengthened before it can grow. Like Moroni said we have to first cleanse our inward vessel. We didnt get a whoole lot of investigators to church but we did get a lot of less actives! AND tonight we are going to have our first activity- a Noite Familiar with all the members! 

Thats pretty much it for this week, its already the last week of the transfer! I cant believe it! Time is going sooo fast! Im trying real hard to enjoy each and every day here, its weird how accostumed I am to everything. 

Love, 

Seester Scheevens