Hello, everyone!
I have literally no time to write an e-mail today, and I probably won't write another e-mail next week, so I'll just see you all when I get home!
Sorry I don't have time to write a well thought out sentimental e-mail, but I just want to bare my testimony that I know that this Church is true! This is the Lord's work, and this is the only path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the life to come!
I love you all so much and will see you on Friday!
Thursday, December 18, 2014
18 days ... (December 1)
Hello, everyone!
So, this week was crazy pants! My new companion (companion #16) is sister Lusk! She goes home THE SAME DAY AS ME! This is not good for trunkiness! I served in the same zone as sister Lusk in Tennessee, and now we're companions here in Brazil in our last 3 weeks of our mission. Who would've thought?!
So it's been kind of interesting, because we don't have a ton of investigators, (our only progressing investigator was baptized) and the President is going to temporarily close our area in 3 weeks. So, after some careful consideration and prayer, we decided to focus on working with less actives. We have a ward list that is 27 pages long, and at church frequency is less than 100 people. So, there are a LOT of less actives and completely inactives. The bishop was happy when we told him we were going to try to contact all of the people on our ward list to see who moved, who is interested in coming back to church, and in the process find new investigators.
Alex gave a referral a while back for a woman named Luciana. We've been trying to teach her for a while, but it's been kind of hard to find her at home. But, we were able to meet with her this week, and teach her, and she really wants to be baptized. She said that she wants the peace she can see that we have, and that she wants to start a new life. She's super great! We made plans to pick her up for church on Sunday and everything. On Sunday morning, we called her to see if she was ready for us to come pick her up, and she said that she wasn't feeling well and wasn't going to come. We were disappointed, because we knew how much good it would do for her to come to church. Half way through sacrament meeting, a member tapped my shoulder and said there was a visitor in the back of the chapel. It was Luciana! She decided that she wanted to come, and she got dressed, and made it on her own! The sacrament talks were exactly what she needed to hear, and it was awesome!
Yesterday, Alex received the Aaronic Priesthood, and he was so excited! He was the first one at church yesterday! He's awesome!
Our zone leader called us yesterday to tell us that our P-day next week will be moved to FRIDAY! We're going to go ELEVEN DAYS WITHOUT P-DAY!!!! Sister Lusk and I are going to die. After almost 18 months of missionary-ing we're just tired! It's going to be a struggle, but everything will work out! (so my next e-mail will be Friday, Dec 12).
Being a missionary rocks. I'm really going to miss it!
much love,
Sister Pennington
So, this week was crazy pants! My new companion (companion #16) is sister Lusk! She goes home THE SAME DAY AS ME! This is not good for trunkiness! I served in the same zone as sister Lusk in Tennessee, and now we're companions here in Brazil in our last 3 weeks of our mission. Who would've thought?!
So it's been kind of interesting, because we don't have a ton of investigators, (our only progressing investigator was baptized) and the President is going to temporarily close our area in 3 weeks. So, after some careful consideration and prayer, we decided to focus on working with less actives. We have a ward list that is 27 pages long, and at church frequency is less than 100 people. So, there are a LOT of less actives and completely inactives. The bishop was happy when we told him we were going to try to contact all of the people on our ward list to see who moved, who is interested in coming back to church, and in the process find new investigators.
Alex gave a referral a while back for a woman named Luciana. We've been trying to teach her for a while, but it's been kind of hard to find her at home. But, we were able to meet with her this week, and teach her, and she really wants to be baptized. She said that she wants the peace she can see that we have, and that she wants to start a new life. She's super great! We made plans to pick her up for church on Sunday and everything. On Sunday morning, we called her to see if she was ready for us to come pick her up, and she said that she wasn't feeling well and wasn't going to come. We were disappointed, because we knew how much good it would do for her to come to church. Half way through sacrament meeting, a member tapped my shoulder and said there was a visitor in the back of the chapel. It was Luciana! She decided that she wanted to come, and she got dressed, and made it on her own! The sacrament talks were exactly what she needed to hear, and it was awesome!
Yesterday, Alex received the Aaronic Priesthood, and he was so excited! He was the first one at church yesterday! He's awesome!
Our zone leader called us yesterday to tell us that our P-day next week will be moved to FRIDAY! We're going to go ELEVEN DAYS WITHOUT P-DAY!!!! Sister Lusk and I are going to die. After almost 18 months of missionary-ing we're just tired! It's going to be a struggle, but everything will work out! (so my next e-mail will be Friday, Dec 12).
much love,
Sister Pennington
tá doido! (November 24)
Hello everyone!
So this week was great! Alex was baptized! It was super awesome sauce! We followed up carefully with him this entire week, and he was able to quit smoking and was so excited to be able to be baptized! Also, I've already lost 3 kilos! Wahoo!
We had some trouble filling up the font. When we turned on the water, and GIANT COCKROACH came out of the faucet! Minha nossa! Because we're just 2 wimpy girls, we spent about 30 minutes trying to muster up the courage to kill it. Afterwards, we left the font running, while we left to do some work. A member of the bishopric told us that it took about 2 hours to fill up. We left the water running for just a little bit longer than an hour, and by the time that we got there, the water had already started to overflow and spill all over the chapel. There's no way to unplug the drain and then replug it without getting completely soaking, so we got buckets and started to bail the water out of the font. It certainly was an adventure :)
In the end, and what's actually important, Alex was able to finally take this step that he had been wanting to take for so long. It was a great baptismal service, and without a doubt, he felt the spirit!
Things are going great here, we're gaining the members' trust, and we're even getting a lot more referrals than we had in the past! Sister Carranza and I work awesome together, and I love her to bits and pieces. And, as I have learned from almost 18 months of missionary experience, the Lord never lets us get too comfortable. Sister Carranza will be transferred tomorrow, and I'll finish up my 3 more weeks of missionary service with another sister.
I was very surprised and saddened that Sister Carranza will be leaving, but I suppose that it's just one more experience to grow.
I love all of you to bits and pieces, and hope that your week is a wonderful one! Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Sister Pennington
So this week was great! Alex was baptized! It was super awesome sauce! We followed up carefully with him this entire week, and he was able to quit smoking and was so excited to be able to be baptized! Also, I've already lost 3 kilos! Wahoo!
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| Alex was baptized!! |
In the end, and what's actually important, Alex was able to finally take this step that he had been wanting to take for so long. It was a great baptismal service, and without a doubt, he felt the spirit!
Things are going great here, we're gaining the members' trust, and we're even getting a lot more referrals than we had in the past! Sister Carranza and I work awesome together, and I love her to bits and pieces. And, as I have learned from almost 18 months of missionary experience, the Lord never lets us get too comfortable. Sister Carranza will be transferred tomorrow, and I'll finish up my 3 more weeks of missionary service with another sister.
I was very surprised and saddened that Sister Carranza will be leaving, but I suppose that it's just one more experience to grow.
I love all of you to bits and pieces, and hope that your week is a wonderful one! Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Sister Pennington
1 more month! (November 18)
Hello!
Yet another great week!
We didn't have P-day yesterday because of our interviews with the mission President, so we have P-day today! It's going to be a great one!
We have some great investigators who have lots of potential, but the areas we're working in are pretty far from where the members of the ward live. We're trying hard to work with the members, so we're going to start working more in the areas where they live. We're going to do some exploring this week, it seems. It's going to be great!
We found a cool investigator this week named Cenida. She's member of the Congregação Cristã no Brasil, which is a really strict evangelical church, and it's part of their church doctrine that women can't cut their hair. The funny part is that Cenida cuts hair for a living. #irony
We have an adorable investigator, Lavinha, who's 9 years old, and the niece of the Relief Society president here. She loves to read the Book of Mormon, and she's super smart! She remembers everything about the story of Nephi and Lehi and it's just stinkin' adorable. I think I'll just teach children for the rest of my mission. They just get it!
Alex was not baptized this week. But, we made some goals with him, and some specific plans, and we announced his baptism for Saturday to the entire ward. I really have faith in him that he will be able to be baptized this Saturday, but even if he doesn't I know for sure that we did our part. Last week we went to his house every single day, tried to help prepare him, and we're going to do the same thing this week. We prayed and fasted and studied and prayed some more for this guy. One of the things that I've learned on my mission, is the value of just 1. The Good Shepherd truly leaves the ninety and nine in the search of the one. I feel honored to be enlisted in that search.
I love this gospel, and I love being a missionary!
Até logo!
Sister Pennington
Yet another great week!
We didn't have P-day yesterday because of our interviews with the mission President, so we have P-day today! It's going to be a great one!
We have some great investigators who have lots of potential, but the areas we're working in are pretty far from where the members of the ward live. We're trying hard to work with the members, so we're going to start working more in the areas where they live. We're going to do some exploring this week, it seems. It's going to be great!
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| Sister Pennington and her companion |
We have an adorable investigator, Lavinha, who's 9 years old, and the niece of the Relief Society president here. She loves to read the Book of Mormon, and she's super smart! She remembers everything about the story of Nephi and Lehi and it's just stinkin' adorable. I think I'll just teach children for the rest of my mission. They just get it!
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| Sister Pennington being silly ;) |
I love this gospel, and I love being a missionary!
Até logo!
Sister Pennington
Monday, November 10, 2014
A wonderfual week in Jaguariúna (November 10)
Hello, everyone!
We had yet another wonderful week here in Jaguariúna!
A fantastic member fixed our shower for us, so luckily the bucket shower situation has been resolved. But, on Friday we found the evidence of rat in our house, so we cleaned everything from top to bottom in search of this creature, and we found his home (behind the washing machine), but he was not present...will have to find him later...
We're working hard, and SUPER TIRED! I don't think I've ever been so tired in my whole life! On Saturday, we explored a new neighborhood, and tried to contact some less active members and find some new investigators. Man we were so tired by the end of the day, we had the crazy laughs and couldn't stop! We were trying to teach a less active, and we just couldn't stop laughing! But, as we know, "men are that they might have joy" :)
Alex is going to wait another week to be baptized. He has trouble with smoking, so we're trying to help him quit before his baptism. We tried EVERYTHING! But I did something this week that worked but I almost instantly regretted. I promised Alex that if he quits smoking I'll loose 4 kilos. I have trouble still with the conversion between pounds and kilos, and so it wasn't until I got home and did the math that I realized that it's almost 9 pounds! #diet #exercise #boo. BUT, Alex went 3 days in a row without smoking!!!! Wahoo! Everything is all set up for this Saturday, and we're going to stop eating 3 bowls of ice cream with our lunch!
It was a great week, and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity that I have for the next 39 days to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! There's nothing better!
Love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
We had yet another wonderful week here in Jaguariúna!
A fantastic member fixed our shower for us, so luckily the bucket shower situation has been resolved. But, on Friday we found the evidence of rat in our house, so we cleaned everything from top to bottom in search of this creature, and we found his home (behind the washing machine), but he was not present...will have to find him later...
We're working hard, and SUPER TIRED! I don't think I've ever been so tired in my whole life! On Saturday, we explored a new neighborhood, and tried to contact some less active members and find some new investigators. Man we were so tired by the end of the day, we had the crazy laughs and couldn't stop! We were trying to teach a less active, and we just couldn't stop laughing! But, as we know, "men are that they might have joy" :)
Alex is going to wait another week to be baptized. He has trouble with smoking, so we're trying to help him quit before his baptism. We tried EVERYTHING! But I did something this week that worked but I almost instantly regretted. I promised Alex that if he quits smoking I'll loose 4 kilos. I have trouble still with the conversion between pounds and kilos, and so it wasn't until I got home and did the math that I realized that it's almost 9 pounds! #diet #exercise #boo. BUT, Alex went 3 days in a row without smoking!!!! Wahoo! Everything is all set up for this Saturday, and we're going to stop eating 3 bowls of ice cream with our lunch!
It was a great week, and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity that I have for the next 39 days to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! There's nothing better!
Love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
Monday, November 3, 2014
Ola! [November 3]
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| A reunion of Sister Pennington's MTC district in the bus station |
So this week was CRAZY PANTS!!! We had emergency transfers in the middle of the transfer, and Sister Mitillo left! Guess who's my new companheira? Sister Carranza! We lived in the same house in Valinhos. She's AWESOME! I absolutely love this sister! She's great!
Our sketchy electrical shower is shocking us now, so we have to take bucket showers until someone can come fix it. Also, we don't have light in the bathroom, so last night I took a bucket shower by the light of a flashlight ... It was pretty rustic.
We promised an investigator if she visited the church, we would visit her church. It was interesting. There was a ceremonial dance with women in purple robes, so that was fun.
Nobody was baptized this weekend, but we marked for next week with Alex, and I think this one will work out ... We just need to go there are "quebrar as pernas dele" a little bit, as they would say here in Brazil. But, it will all work out :) We have an "investigator" who was baptized before I got here, but never went back to church, and so was never confirmed. We never found him at home, and he didn't respond to our calls, but yesterday, we went after church to visit him with the bishop, AND HE WAS HOME! We talked for a while with him and his wife (who is also a recent convert, and has stopped coming to church) and they told us their worries, and they reasons for not going back to church, and we sorted it all out, and they said that they're going to come to church on Sunday, and we marked another visit during the week. It was so cool talking with Mauricia about why she had decided to be baptized. She said that she had always wanted to be with her husband and daughter forever, but didn't know how it was going to happen. She said that when the sisters taught the plan of salvation, she just started to cry, because she understood how families could be together forever. She is so excited to prepare to go to the temple and be sealed to her family.
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| Sister Carranza with Cicero and Marlei |
Love,
Sister Pennington
Monday, October 27, 2014
Hello! (October 27)
This week was an adventure! It was so great!
It finally rained here in São Paulo! We're still in a drought, but at least it's something!
My companion was bitten by a dog this week! (luckily it was a little one and probably didn't have rabies...but she is kind of weird, so I don't know for sure... :)
We went to the temple with an investigator! It was awesome! He's been taught for a long time, and he's had several baptismal dates that have fallen through, but we were teaching him about the atonement in the temple, and invited him to be baptized this Saturday, and he said that he really wanted to, and he knows that the gospel is true and "can't run anymore". Haha - I love being a missionary! Investigators are great!
We're have a bunch of really promising investigators! We have 2 baptisms marked for this Saturday, and 3 confirmations for this Sunday! It's going to be a real busy week!
We had lunch with a member this week, Anderson, who is awesome. He absolutely LOVES missionary work! His son is currently serving a mission in Rio de Janeiro. He was talking to us during lunch about how much he loves having us in his home because it makes him miss his son just a little bit less. He said that the absolute greatest sacrifice that he has ever made for the gospel was that of letting his son serve a mission.
I know that for some of you, (mom and dad) it's been tough to have me gone, but I just wanted to thank all of you for allowing me this opportunity. I've never had a greater honor in all my life than to wear the badge with the name of Christ on my chest. I love being a missionary
Love,
Sister Pennington
It finally rained here in São Paulo! We're still in a drought, but at least it's something!
My companion was bitten by a dog this week! (luckily it was a little one and probably didn't have rabies...but she is kind of weird, so I don't know for sure... :)
We went to the temple with an investigator! It was awesome! He's been taught for a long time, and he's had several baptismal dates that have fallen through, but we were teaching him about the atonement in the temple, and invited him to be baptized this Saturday, and he said that he really wanted to, and he knows that the gospel is true and "can't run anymore". Haha - I love being a missionary! Investigators are great!
We're have a bunch of really promising investigators! We have 2 baptisms marked for this Saturday, and 3 confirmations for this Sunday! It's going to be a real busy week!
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| Bishop Antonio and his family (Valinhos) |
I know that for some of you, (mom and dad) it's been tough to have me gone, but I just wanted to thank all of you for allowing me this opportunity. I've never had a greater honor in all my life than to wear the badge with the name of Christ on my chest. I love being a missionary
Love,
Sister Pennington
Jaguariúna (October 20)
Hello, family!
I'm here in Jaguariúna! It's a little city about half an hour away from Campinas. The ward here is pretty small, but it seems great!
There are 2 companionships of sisters here, me and my companion Sister Mitillo from Argentina, and the other companionship Sister Kariery from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and Sister Garibay from Peru. Sister Mitillo has 5 months on the mission, and I had already done a companionship exchange with her when I was in Itatiba. She's really great, so I'm excited to work with her!
Just a side note before I talk about missionary related things - it's so flippin' hot! Holy cow! The poor sisters in Valinhos don't have any fans, and my last night there, it was so hot that I dampened my sheets and put them in the freezer and took them out at night and slept with them. It was marvelous. I've started to always keep my sheets in the freezer. #brazilianmissionaryproblems
Things are going well in my new area! I love serving in smaller wards, and so I'm super excited to be able to serve here! We have some very promising investigators, so I'm excited to be able to work with them. We have a LOT of less active members we're working with, which is one of my very favorite parts of missionary work so I'm just a happy camper :)
The Bishop here has 4 months of being bishop, and ALL of the priesthood and auxiliary presidencies were reorganized, so we have a lot of new people who are really excited. Our ward mission leader made a presentation for the ward leadership about their responsibilities concerning missionary work, and it was awesome sauce. It was probably the most organized, direct and comprehensive explanation of ward leadership responsibilities I've ever had on my mission. Hoping it will get people excited about missionary work!
Anyways, it's been a great first week here, and I'm excited to be here a little bit more!
I love you all so much, and hope that you have a truly wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
I'm here in Jaguariúna! It's a little city about half an hour away from Campinas. The ward here is pretty small, but it seems great!
There are 2 companionships of sisters here, me and my companion Sister Mitillo from Argentina, and the other companionship Sister Kariery from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and Sister Garibay from Peru. Sister Mitillo has 5 months on the mission, and I had already done a companionship exchange with her when I was in Itatiba. She's really great, so I'm excited to work with her!
Just a side note before I talk about missionary related things - it's so flippin' hot! Holy cow! The poor sisters in Valinhos don't have any fans, and my last night there, it was so hot that I dampened my sheets and put them in the freezer and took them out at night and slept with them. It was marvelous. I've started to always keep my sheets in the freezer. #brazilianmissionaryproblems
Things are going well in my new area! I love serving in smaller wards, and so I'm super excited to be able to serve here! We have some very promising investigators, so I'm excited to be able to work with them. We have a LOT of less active members we're working with, which is one of my very favorite parts of missionary work so I'm just a happy camper :)
The Bishop here has 4 months of being bishop, and ALL of the priesthood and auxiliary presidencies were reorganized, so we have a lot of new people who are really excited. Our ward mission leader made a presentation for the ward leadership about their responsibilities concerning missionary work, and it was awesome sauce. It was probably the most organized, direct and comprehensive explanation of ward leadership responsibilities I've ever had on my mission. Hoping it will get people excited about missionary work!
Anyways, it's been a great first week here, and I'm excited to be here a little bit more!
I love you all so much, and hope that you have a truly wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
"Wow! I've Always wanted one of these!" (October 13)
Hello!!!!!!!!
This week was great! We had a zone conference that was awesome in Campinas, and President Perrotti's training was so inspired, and I know that it was exactly what I needed to hear! It was great!
We explored a new neighborhood this week! It is in the middle of NOWHERE! But we talked with a bunch of people who live there, and the other missionaries here in Valinhos passed a bunch of referrals to us of people who live there. So we got on the bus and 40 minutes later we arrived in the middle of the jungle with dirt roads! We tried to find some addresses with our map, but because it's such a middle of nowhere neighborhood, the map wasn't up to date. So, we asked a lady in the street to help us, and she said, she didn't know where the street we were looking for was, because we were looking for an address in Valinhos, and we were in Itatiba! We went so far to the edge of Valinhos, that I accidentally ended up back in Itatiba! Oops :)
We eventually found the adresses we were looking for, and we found an amazing couple, Andrea and Marcelo! We taught the message of the restoration to them, and they absolutely loved it! They've already started Reading the Book of Mormon and are loving it!
We found another awesome investigator, Douglas, a 21 year old guy. He says that he's been searching for the truth, and he has so many great questions! He's awesome sauce!
We take the bus a lot, and while we're waiting for our bus we talk with people in the bus station, invite them to learn more about the church etc. Generally these people are friendly, but they're not usually super stoked to talk to us. Well, the other day, we were talking with people in the bus station, and after I finished talking with someone, a woman waved to me and asked for me to come over and talk to her. I looked behind me to see if there was someone else she was talking to. But no, it was me! I looked down to see if I'd forgotten my name tag, but no, I was a clearly recognizable missionary. I talked with this lady for a while, and gave her a Book of Mórmon, and she got so excited and said, "Wow! I've Always wanted one of these!". She gave us her address and phone number, and we're going to visit her soon :) The Lord is preparing the hearts of the people to receive our message!
If there's one thing that I've learned on my mission, it's that the Lord knows best, and He Always leads us to where we need to be. Just as things here in Valinhos are starting to get going guess what happens? TRANSFERRED! Both me and Sister Galarza are being transferred, and Sister Alexandre and Sister Carranza are going to take over the responsibilities of our área. Heavenly Father never ceases to surprise me or test me. But, I really have gained a testimony of the fact that if we're obedient to the invitation of the Savior to follow Him wherever He goes, and do what He asks, we'll be able to be happy and have Peace knowing that we're where the Lord wants us to be. There's really not a better feeling in all the world :)
I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week! I'm excited for my new adventure!
Love,
Sister Pennington
This week was great! We had a zone conference that was awesome in Campinas, and President Perrotti's training was so inspired, and I know that it was exactly what I needed to hear! It was great!
We explored a new neighborhood this week! It is in the middle of NOWHERE! But we talked with a bunch of people who live there, and the other missionaries here in Valinhos passed a bunch of referrals to us of people who live there. So we got on the bus and 40 minutes later we arrived in the middle of the jungle with dirt roads! We tried to find some addresses with our map, but because it's such a middle of nowhere neighborhood, the map wasn't up to date. So, we asked a lady in the street to help us, and she said, she didn't know where the street we were looking for was, because we were looking for an address in Valinhos, and we were in Itatiba! We went so far to the edge of Valinhos, that I accidentally ended up back in Itatiba! Oops :)
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| Sister Pennington and her companion with members of the ward. |
We found another awesome investigator, Douglas, a 21 year old guy. He says that he's been searching for the truth, and he has so many great questions! He's awesome sauce!
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| Sister Pennington and the newest member of the ward :) |
If there's one thing that I've learned on my mission, it's that the Lord knows best, and He Always leads us to where we need to be. Just as things here in Valinhos are starting to get going guess what happens? TRANSFERRED! Both me and Sister Galarza are being transferred, and Sister Alexandre and Sister Carranza are going to take over the responsibilities of our área. Heavenly Father never ceases to surprise me or test me. But, I really have gained a testimony of the fact that if we're obedient to the invitation of the Savior to follow Him wherever He goes, and do what He asks, we'll be able to be happy and have Peace knowing that we're where the Lord wants us to be. There's really not a better feeling in all the world :)
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| P Day at a local park - açaí and coconut water! yum! |
Love,
Sister Pennington
CONFERENCIA GERAL!!!! (October 6)
Hello, friends and family!
This week was awesome! Want to know why?! Because I left the house and was able to work! It was so great! And, it was GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!! It was so awesome sauce!
For those of you who didn't watch it, REPENT AND WATCH IT!!!! It was so good!
We watched conference in the chapel, and because there are 4 American missionaries here in Valinhos, we were able to watch in on a member's laptop in ENGLISH! It was amazing! I understand everything in Portuguese, but it's super irritating to watch the apostles and prophet speaking and being unable to hear their familiar and comforting voices. But, this time we had our "English only" room and it was super legit :)
There were so many amazing talks, and I loved all of them, but my favorite was dear Elder Bednar's talk. It was about missionary work (so obviously it was awesome). He directed the message to people who are not members of this church. The basis of his talk was the question, "why do my Mormon friends always want to invite me to hear more about their church?" He explained why we share the gospel with our friends. He read an excerpt from Lehi's dream in 1 Nephi 8:12 which describes the scene when Lehi partakes of the fruit of the tree of life, and he sees how good it is, and just wants to share it with everyone who will partake. It's the same thing with the gospel. When we partake of the goodness of the fruit of the tree of life, or the atonement of Jesus Christ, we just want to share it with everyone. That's why I'm here, and that's why I love being a missionary. I invite all of you who have experienced this same joy in the gospel to share it with others, and I invite all of you who haven't to "come and see".
www.mormon.org
Iove,
Sister Pennington
This week was awesome! Want to know why?! Because I left the house and was able to work! It was so great! And, it was GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!! It was so awesome sauce!
For those of you who didn't watch it, REPENT AND WATCH IT!!!! It was so good!
We watched conference in the chapel, and because there are 4 American missionaries here in Valinhos, we were able to watch in on a member's laptop in ENGLISH! It was amazing! I understand everything in Portuguese, but it's super irritating to watch the apostles and prophet speaking and being unable to hear their familiar and comforting voices. But, this time we had our "English only" room and it was super legit :)
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| Sister Pennington and the Bishop's wife Cristiane |
www.mormon.org
Iove,
Sister Pennington
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Hello! (September 29)
So last week wasn't the coolest week ever, but this next week is going to be great! I had "suspect of Dengue" and was in my bed from Monday to Saturday. But I rose from the dead and I feel a lot better now! (I think it may have been just a diferente vírus with symptoms similar to Dengue)
I learned how to solve a rubik's cube, so that was cool.
I also watched the restoration vídeo in Chinese, and didn't understand anything. [The link is not in Chinese ;)]
I watched the testaments in Italian and understood a lot. Italian and Portuguese are pretty similar (apparently!)
One of the symptoms of Dengue is pain behind the eyes, so I could only stand reading for about 15 minutes and then I had to sleep again.
But, I was feeling good enough to go to church on Sunday, so we went to church and went back to watch the broadcast of the women's conference! It was awesome! I absolutely loved all of the talks! President Uchtdorf and some of the other sisters who spoke mentioned the importance of remembering who we are. We are sons and daughters of God. If that knowledge is Always in our hearts, our actions, attitudes and thoughts will be influenced for good. We will be more dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will want to do all we can to serve as witnesses of God at all times in all things and in all places.
Remember who you are! Romans 8:16
Love,
Sister Pennington
I learned how to solve a rubik's cube, so that was cool.
I also watched the restoration vídeo in Chinese, and didn't understand anything. [The link is not in Chinese ;)]
I watched the testaments in Italian and understood a lot. Italian and Portuguese are pretty similar (apparently!)
One of the symptoms of Dengue is pain behind the eyes, so I could only stand reading for about 15 minutes and then I had to sleep again.
But, I was feeling good enough to go to church on Sunday, so we went to church and went back to watch the broadcast of the women's conference! It was awesome! I absolutely loved all of the talks! President Uchtdorf and some of the other sisters who spoke mentioned the importance of remembering who we are. We are sons and daughters of God. If that knowledge is Always in our hearts, our actions, attitudes and thoughts will be influenced for good. We will be more dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will want to do all we can to serve as witnesses of God at all times in all things and in all places.
Remember who you are! Romans 8:16
Love,
Sister Pennington
Hello :) (Septeber 22)
Hola família :)
This week was good :)
here are some of the highlights...
- We went to a park for p-day - we played fútebol like true Brazilians and that was fun. The not so fun part, was that my companion got 6 tics! yikes!
- We found some really legit new investigators! It'll be cool to follow up with them this week!
- We found the craziest less active member I've ever met in my life! Holy cow! We've been trying to visit her for a long time, but she's never home when we try to visit her. But this week, we walked in front of her house, and saw that the door was open, so we knocked to see if we could visit her. Her son let us in, and we found her in the kitchen sorting through some papers. We greeted her, and she didn't stop to look at us. We started talking to her, and very quickly we came to realize that she didn't want to talk to us. She told us that if she had to choose between God and Satan, she would choose Satan because it would be more fun to tempt and provoke people...haha we left quickly from that house :)
- Heavenly Father is so merciful with us! Sunday night we were on our way home, super hungry, and remembered that we had nothing in our house to eat. We got a ride with a member, and without us even asking, she made food for us :) We were very happy :)
But, that's about all the excitement we had this week! It's awesome being a missionary and having the opportunity to share the gospel with Heavenly Father's children here in Brazil! The gospel is true! It changes lives!
I love y'all so much and hope you have a marvelous week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
This week was good :)
here are some of the highlights...
- We went to a park for p-day - we played fútebol like true Brazilians and that was fun. The not so fun part, was that my companion got 6 tics! yikes!
- We found some really legit new investigators! It'll be cool to follow up with them this week!
 |
| Sister Pennington and some of the members of the ward she loves :) |
- We found the craziest less active member I've ever met in my life! Holy cow! We've been trying to visit her for a long time, but she's never home when we try to visit her. But this week, we walked in front of her house, and saw that the door was open, so we knocked to see if we could visit her. Her son let us in, and we found her in the kitchen sorting through some papers. We greeted her, and she didn't stop to look at us. We started talking to her, and very quickly we came to realize that she didn't want to talk to us. She told us that if she had to choose between God and Satan, she would choose Satan because it would be more fun to tempt and provoke people...haha we left quickly from that house :)
- Heavenly Father is so merciful with us! Sunday night we were on our way home, super hungry, and remembered that we had nothing in our house to eat. We got a ride with a member, and without us even asking, she made food for us :) We were very happy :)
 |
| Sister Pennington and the Bishop's wife |
But, that's about all the excitement we had this week! It's awesome being a missionary and having the opportunity to share the gospel with Heavenly Father's children here in Brazil! The gospel is true! It changes lives!
I love y'all so much and hope you have a marvelous week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
Oi (September 15)
hello!
This week was a little bit crazy pants! We had two days that were super weird. On Wednesday, Sister Galarza got sick, and so we went to the hospital to see what was up. It turns out that she can't eat milk, citrus, anything fried, anything with sauce, or gluten. She can only eat healthy things! Tadinha dela :)
Thursday, a member called us sobbing saying that she was super sick, and home alone with her 2 year old grandson, and that she didn't have the energy to do anything. So we went over to her house, and ended up spending the whole day with her helping her clean dishes etc. We called every member we could, but nobody could come and help. It was a little disheartening, because we asked this Irmã who her visiting and home teacher were, and she said she had no idea because nobody visits her. She is a widow working alone to support her daughter and grandson. And nobody visits her? That's just crazy pants. Needless to say, yesterday Sister Galraza and I got the Visiting Teaching list and we're going to do visits with the Irmãs this week :) #doyourvisitingteaching
Last night was the highlight of my week! It was awesome! We had a family home evening in a member's home, and there were so many members there! But before we went to the family home evening, we felt like we should visit Maria Eduarda. She's been sick for the past two weeks, and we haven't been able to see her. On our way to her house, we passed by the house of Marcelo, Marilsa's nephew. We talked with Marcelo a little bit, and then he told us that Marilsa was there as well. We went to say a quick hello, and found Marilsa eating dinner with her mom. Marilsa already has a testimony. She loves the church, and really wants to be a part of it. But her 2 main concerns were that she had a severe addiction to coffee, and that her mom doesn't approve. But last night, Marilsa was able to see her mom interact with us, and she really does like us a lot. She offered us dinner, and we were even able to say a prayer with her. Marilsa was so happy to see that her mom treated us well, and is very friendly towards us. Marilsa also informed us that she hasn't had coffee in 5 days! She said she feels so much better and she doesn't even miss it! She's so excited about everything, and she radiates the joy she feels from the gospel. I just love her to bits and pieces!
Things are going well here, we're workin', teachin' and havin' a good time :)
Love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week!
See you soon! (95 days...but who's counting?!) [Sister Pennington will be home December 19!!]
Sister Pennington
This week was a little bit crazy pants! We had two days that were super weird. On Wednesday, Sister Galarza got sick, and so we went to the hospital to see what was up. It turns out that she can't eat milk, citrus, anything fried, anything with sauce, or gluten. She can only eat healthy things! Tadinha dela :)
Thursday, a member called us sobbing saying that she was super sick, and home alone with her 2 year old grandson, and that she didn't have the energy to do anything. So we went over to her house, and ended up spending the whole day with her helping her clean dishes etc. We called every member we could, but nobody could come and help. It was a little disheartening, because we asked this Irmã who her visiting and home teacher were, and she said she had no idea because nobody visits her. She is a widow working alone to support her daughter and grandson. And nobody visits her? That's just crazy pants. Needless to say, yesterday Sister Galraza and I got the Visiting Teaching list and we're going to do visits with the Irmãs this week :) #doyourvisitingteaching
Last night was the highlight of my week! It was awesome! We had a family home evening in a member's home, and there were so many members there! But before we went to the family home evening, we felt like we should visit Maria Eduarda. She's been sick for the past two weeks, and we haven't been able to see her. On our way to her house, we passed by the house of Marcelo, Marilsa's nephew. We talked with Marcelo a little bit, and then he told us that Marilsa was there as well. We went to say a quick hello, and found Marilsa eating dinner with her mom. Marilsa already has a testimony. She loves the church, and really wants to be a part of it. But her 2 main concerns were that she had a severe addiction to coffee, and that her mom doesn't approve. But last night, Marilsa was able to see her mom interact with us, and she really does like us a lot. She offered us dinner, and we were even able to say a prayer with her. Marilsa was so happy to see that her mom treated us well, and is very friendly towards us. Marilsa also informed us that she hasn't had coffee in 5 days! She said she feels so much better and she doesn't even miss it! She's so excited about everything, and she radiates the joy she feels from the gospel. I just love her to bits and pieces!
Things are going well here, we're workin', teachin' and havin' a good time :)
Love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week!
See you soon! (95 days...but who's counting?!) [Sister Pennington will be home December 19!!]
Sister Pennington
Monday, September 8, 2014
7 missionaries for Bela Vista! (September 8)
Hello, everyone!
So, we now have 11 missionaries here in Valinhos, 7 of which are in my Ward - Bela Vista! aí sim, Bela Vista!
We have another companionship of sisters in our Ward, Sister Alexandre from Bahia, Brasil, and Sister Carranza from Argentina (she was serving in the other Ward here in Valinhos, but moved to Bela Vista), and the Elders are in a trio! Lunch with the members is like thanksgiving every day because of the ridiculous amount of missionaries!
We divided our área with the other sisters, and it's such a good thing! It was so hard to follow up with people, because our área was so big. Now we only have 4 or 5 diferente neighborhoods, and it's a little bit easier now.
Marilsa is so adorably awesome! We taught her on Tuesday, and she made a delicious chicken salad in little cracker boats! It was so cute! Her husband, Roberto, is super hard to find at home, but he was there and he is so open to the gospel and so supportive of Marilsa. The last time we taught them together, we challenged them to pray about the Book of Mormon to know if it really is true. When we asked Marilsa how her prayer went, Marilsa said, "I have absolutely no doubt it's true". She was just smiling from ear to ear, and I could feel the power of her testimony. It was so awesome! Roberto said they were both going to stop drinking coffee. They went to church yesterday, and just loved it :) Before we left, Roberto said he wanted to ask a question. He asked us when the temple is open for visits. We're going to plan a day this week to go with all of them to the temple :) It's going to be awesome!
Fast and testimony meeting was awesome. It was kind of cool, because at the end, all of us missionaries went up to the stand and bore our testimonies. It was really cool. The ward is getting super excited about missionary work, and I hope we can help in whatever way we can :)
I love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week!
Sister Pennington
So, we now have 11 missionaries here in Valinhos, 7 of which are in my Ward - Bela Vista! aí sim, Bela Vista!
We have another companionship of sisters in our Ward, Sister Alexandre from Bahia, Brasil, and Sister Carranza from Argentina (she was serving in the other Ward here in Valinhos, but moved to Bela Vista), and the Elders are in a trio! Lunch with the members is like thanksgiving every day because of the ridiculous amount of missionaries!
We divided our área with the other sisters, and it's such a good thing! It was so hard to follow up with people, because our área was so big. Now we only have 4 or 5 diferente neighborhoods, and it's a little bit easier now.
Marilsa is so adorably awesome! We taught her on Tuesday, and she made a delicious chicken salad in little cracker boats! It was so cute! Her husband, Roberto, is super hard to find at home, but he was there and he is so open to the gospel and so supportive of Marilsa. The last time we taught them together, we challenged them to pray about the Book of Mormon to know if it really is true. When we asked Marilsa how her prayer went, Marilsa said, "I have absolutely no doubt it's true". She was just smiling from ear to ear, and I could feel the power of her testimony. It was so awesome! Roberto said they were both going to stop drinking coffee. They went to church yesterday, and just loved it :) Before we left, Roberto said he wanted to ask a question. He asked us when the temple is open for visits. We're going to plan a day this week to go with all of them to the temple :) It's going to be awesome!
Fast and testimony meeting was awesome. It was kind of cool, because at the end, all of us missionaries went up to the stand and bore our testimonies. It was really cool. The ward is getting super excited about missionary work, and I hope we can help in whatever way we can :)
I love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week!
Sister Pennington
Monday, September 1, 2014
Ola! (September 1)
Hello, everyone!
They're playing Nickelback in this internet café...it's literally been 14 months since I've heard them ... just a little bit distracted, but tudo bem, vamos lá!
Anyways, this week was good! We had some adventures, as always, and it was great.
The first adventure that wasn't super fun ... I got food poisoning! Wahoo! I spent an entire day in bed, which was kind of horrible, but, seeing as it was really just food poisoning, after that one day, I was completely back to normal :)
Funny story - Cicero, our elect investigator, has gone to church 3 Sundays in a row. He's awesome. He's super over the top in everything. He's super energetic and just a little bit crazy pants. He called us on Saturday, and when I answered the phone, he shouted, "SANTOS DO ÚLTIMOS DIAS!!!!" or, Latter day saints!!!! I thought it was a pretty comical way to greet someone on the phone. I laugh a lot when we teach that man. He's fantastic!
The 5 progressing investigators we're working really hard with all came to church this Sunday! Wahooo! I don't know if I talked a lot about Marilsa, but she is so awesome! She's been taught by the missionaries for a long time. She had a lot of emotional problems, but she was introduced to the gospel by her nephew who is a member, and after she started to read the Book of Mormon and going to church, her life got so much happier. She feels so much peace and comfort from reading the Book of Mormon, and she truly loves the gospel. We're helping her get ready for baptism and she's just great. She has a super addiction to coffee, and so we're trying to help her stop. She said that after we challenged her to stop drinking coffee, it doesn't have the same taste anymore. She said that "it tastes like sin." I laughed about that one, but at least God is going His part in helping her with her addiction :)
A few months ago, we started teaching Marilsa's brother, Claudio, and his family. They need the gospel so much. They are looking for peace and looking for something to help their family become stronger. They've grown so much since we started teaching them. When we first met Claudio he was super gruff and didn't want a whole lot to do with us, but he looks forward now to our visits, and a few weeks ago he promised that he would go to church on the 31 because the other Sunday's before he had appointments. We left a big post-it with them that said "31 de Augusto - seu compromisso com Deus na igreja" - which means August 31 -you're appointment with God at church. And guess what?! He actually went to church with his wife and son. They arrived so early, that they got there even before we did! Wahoo! They're a great family that is already changing and growing because of the power of the gospel.
It's such a blessing to be working with so many wonderful people! I love being a missionary!
We have transfers this week, and Sister Galarza and I are staying here together for another transfer. But the cool part, is that we're going to get another companionship of sisters here in the ward, so we're going to divide our area! It's going to be SUCH a blessing! Our area is huge, and it's going to be a lot more productive to divide the area! I'm super excited!
Anyways, I love you all so much and hope that you're doing well! Have a great week!
Sister Pennington
They're playing Nickelback in this internet café...it's literally been 14 months since I've heard them ... just a little bit distracted, but tudo bem, vamos lá!
Anyways, this week was good! We had some adventures, as always, and it was great.
The first adventure that wasn't super fun ... I got food poisoning! Wahoo! I spent an entire day in bed, which was kind of horrible, but, seeing as it was really just food poisoning, after that one day, I was completely back to normal :)
Funny story - Cicero, our elect investigator, has gone to church 3 Sundays in a row. He's awesome. He's super over the top in everything. He's super energetic and just a little bit crazy pants. He called us on Saturday, and when I answered the phone, he shouted, "SANTOS DO ÚLTIMOS DIAS!!!!" or, Latter day saints!!!! I thought it was a pretty comical way to greet someone on the phone. I laugh a lot when we teach that man. He's fantastic!
The 5 progressing investigators we're working really hard with all came to church this Sunday! Wahooo! I don't know if I talked a lot about Marilsa, but she is so awesome! She's been taught by the missionaries for a long time. She had a lot of emotional problems, but she was introduced to the gospel by her nephew who is a member, and after she started to read the Book of Mormon and going to church, her life got so much happier. She feels so much peace and comfort from reading the Book of Mormon, and she truly loves the gospel. We're helping her get ready for baptism and she's just great. She has a super addiction to coffee, and so we're trying to help her stop. She said that after we challenged her to stop drinking coffee, it doesn't have the same taste anymore. She said that "it tastes like sin." I laughed about that one, but at least God is going His part in helping her with her addiction :)
A few months ago, we started teaching Marilsa's brother, Claudio, and his family. They need the gospel so much. They are looking for peace and looking for something to help their family become stronger. They've grown so much since we started teaching them. When we first met Claudio he was super gruff and didn't want a whole lot to do with us, but he looks forward now to our visits, and a few weeks ago he promised that he would go to church on the 31 because the other Sunday's before he had appointments. We left a big post-it with them that said "31 de Augusto - seu compromisso com Deus na igreja" - which means August 31 -you're appointment with God at church. And guess what?! He actually went to church with his wife and son. They arrived so early, that they got there even before we did! Wahoo! They're a great family that is already changing and growing because of the power of the gospel.
It's such a blessing to be working with so many wonderful people! I love being a missionary!
We have transfers this week, and Sister Galarza and I are staying here together for another transfer. But the cool part, is that we're going to get another companionship of sisters here in the ward, so we're going to divide our area! It's going to be SUCH a blessing! Our area is huge, and it's going to be a lot more productive to divide the area! I'm super excited!
Anyways, I love you all so much and hope that you're doing well! Have a great week!
Sister Pennington
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Maria Eduarda (August 25)
This week was good, lots of good stuff happened, but all paled in comparison to Maria Eduarda's baptism! It was possibly one of my very favorite experiences of my mission!
So here's the story...
We had everything all set up to interview Maria Eduarda for baptism on Saturday, and talk to her about who she wanted to give the talks and what hymns she wanted. But, and hour before the interview, her mom called us and said that they were in Campinas and wouldn't make it back in time. And that's when I started to panic just a little bit. I got just a little bit worried that Duda's mom didn't want her to be baptized (she's been inactive in the church for years). But, they said that they would go to the church early to do the interview, so it was all good. But we forgot to ask Maria Eduarda about the program and when we tried calling back, nobody responded. We later called our ward mission leader and just about every member in the ward to help up organize the baptism, but NOBODY RESPONDED and we started panicking just a little bit more. We even called the other sister in Valinhos just to see if it wasn't our phone that wasn't working. But, sadly, they answered and we discovered that just all the members were busy. We went to a member's house and asked them if they could fill up the baptismal font so that it could be ready for the next day, and they said no problem. So that was good. After we got home, we stayed up to midnight making the program and making a cake to eat after the baptism...It was a good time :)
Sunday morning we called and called Duda to see if she was on her way to the church and she didn't answer. But just before we got super worried, she called and said she was on her way. We got to church, and the missionary who was supposed to interview her was late, so we had to do the interview after sacrament meeting. With all of the stress and confusion, we didn't even think to check the font, but the member came up to us after sacrament and said they forgot! So we had to clean and fill the font during Sunday school so that it could be all ready for the service after church.
But in spite of all of the craziness and last minute set backs, Maria Eduarda was baptized and it was amazing.
Maria Eduarda is so special, and has such a sweet spirit. She loves the gospel, and is a strong influence for good in her family. Her mom and her brother were both less active, but her brother started coming back to church, and yesterday, the same day as his sister's baptism, he received the Aaronic Priesthood. And for the first time in years, her mom came back to church. Right before the baptism, her sister, Mariana, opened her mission call. She's going to Chile. In her talk at the baptism, Mariana thanked Mariana for being an example to help her family come closer to their goal of going to the temple. Her brother said the closing prayer at the end of the service, and he thanked the Lord for his family, and the gospel. The whole family was crying, and you could see the light of the gospel shine brighter in their eyes.
This is why I decided to serve a mission. To give families this wonderful opportunity to be blessed by the gospel. The very first principles we teach as missionaries are that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and that the gospel blesses families. I have gained a testimony of these truths while on my mission, and am so privileged to be able to share them with others.
I love you all and hope you have an amazing week
So here's the story...
We had everything all set up to interview Maria Eduarda for baptism on Saturday, and talk to her about who she wanted to give the talks and what hymns she wanted. But, and hour before the interview, her mom called us and said that they were in Campinas and wouldn't make it back in time. And that's when I started to panic just a little bit. I got just a little bit worried that Duda's mom didn't want her to be baptized (she's been inactive in the church for years). But, they said that they would go to the church early to do the interview, so it was all good. But we forgot to ask Maria Eduarda about the program and when we tried calling back, nobody responded. We later called our ward mission leader and just about every member in the ward to help up organize the baptism, but NOBODY RESPONDED and we started panicking just a little bit more. We even called the other sister in Valinhos just to see if it wasn't our phone that wasn't working. But, sadly, they answered and we discovered that just all the members were busy. We went to a member's house and asked them if they could fill up the baptismal font so that it could be ready for the next day, and they said no problem. So that was good. After we got home, we stayed up to midnight making the program and making a cake to eat after the baptism...It was a good time :)
Sunday morning we called and called Duda to see if she was on her way to the church and she didn't answer. But just before we got super worried, she called and said she was on her way. We got to church, and the missionary who was supposed to interview her was late, so we had to do the interview after sacrament meeting. With all of the stress and confusion, we didn't even think to check the font, but the member came up to us after sacrament and said they forgot! So we had to clean and fill the font during Sunday school so that it could be all ready for the service after church.
But in spite of all of the craziness and last minute set backs, Maria Eduarda was baptized and it was amazing.
Maria Eduarda is so special, and has such a sweet spirit. She loves the gospel, and is a strong influence for good in her family. Her mom and her brother were both less active, but her brother started coming back to church, and yesterday, the same day as his sister's baptism, he received the Aaronic Priesthood. And for the first time in years, her mom came back to church. Right before the baptism, her sister, Mariana, opened her mission call. She's going to Chile. In her talk at the baptism, Mariana thanked Mariana for being an example to help her family come closer to their goal of going to the temple. Her brother said the closing prayer at the end of the service, and he thanked the Lord for his family, and the gospel. The whole family was crying, and you could see the light of the gospel shine brighter in their eyes.
This is why I decided to serve a mission. To give families this wonderful opportunity to be blessed by the gospel. The very first principles we teach as missionaries are that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and that the gospel blesses families. I have gained a testimony of these truths while on my mission, and am so privileged to be able to share them with others.
I love you all and hope you have an amazing week
 |
| Carlos (duda's brother), Sister Pennington, Mariana (with her mission call in hand), Maria Eduarda, Sister Galarza and Duda's mom |
Oi, gente! (August 18)
Hello, everyone!
First and foremost, I want to give a big shout out to my very first companion, SISTER SPENCER FOR GETTING HER VISA!!!! She's finally going to come down here to Brazil! I'm so excited to see her again! I hope I can be her companion again! I love that sister to bits and pieces!
Also, Sister Howell sent an e-mail this week letting me know that Denusia was baptized! Denusia was the amazing investigator we had in Barão Geraldo we took to visit the temple! It's so cool to know that the work we did helped her to be baptized in the end. I forgot to e-mail about it, but Leni was also baptized from Barão shortly after we left. It makes me so happy!
Anyways, this week was good.
Here are some highlights...
- Maria Eduarda is the cutest little human the Heavenly Father has ever created. She called us during the week just to see how we were doing, and to tell us that she wrote a little talk that she wanted to show us during our next lesson. She had visual aids and everything. It was pretty stinkin' adorable. If only all of our investigators were cute 10 year old girls.... :) She's going to be baptized this Sunday :)
- Cicero came to church yesterday! He already looks like a member! He's so prepared, and so excited to continue learning more about the gospel. He's the most energetic 70 year old I know! He's great!
We had a great training yesterday with the stake president, all of the missionaries and the Ward leadership. It was super great, and the theme was that "missionary work" is really not an auxiliary to the church, or a separate organization. It should be the focus of EVERY organization and auxiliary in the church. It was awesome! Missionary work is so important, both for those doing the work, and those whom they serve. Always look for ways to share the gospel, and serve others. Study Preach My Gospel! It's not just for missionaries!
Love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week full of missionary opportunities!
Sister Pennington
First and foremost, I want to give a big shout out to my very first companion, SISTER SPENCER FOR GETTING HER VISA!!!! She's finally going to come down here to Brazil! I'm so excited to see her again! I hope I can be her companion again! I love that sister to bits and pieces!
Also, Sister Howell sent an e-mail this week letting me know that Denusia was baptized! Denusia was the amazing investigator we had in Barão Geraldo we took to visit the temple! It's so cool to know that the work we did helped her to be baptized in the end. I forgot to e-mail about it, but Leni was also baptized from Barão shortly after we left. It makes me so happy!
 |
| All the sisters in Valinhos |
Here are some highlights...
- Maria Eduarda is the cutest little human the Heavenly Father has ever created. She called us during the week just to see how we were doing, and to tell us that she wrote a little talk that she wanted to show us during our next lesson. She had visual aids and everything. It was pretty stinkin' adorable. If only all of our investigators were cute 10 year old girls.... :) She's going to be baptized this Sunday :)
- Cicero came to church yesterday! He already looks like a member! He's so prepared, and so excited to continue learning more about the gospel. He's the most energetic 70 year old I know! He's great!
We had a great training yesterday with the stake president, all of the missionaries and the Ward leadership. It was super great, and the theme was that "missionary work" is really not an auxiliary to the church, or a separate organization. It should be the focus of EVERY organization and auxiliary in the church. It was awesome! Missionary work is so important, both for those doing the work, and those whom they serve. Always look for ways to share the gospel, and serve others. Study Preach My Gospel! It's not just for missionaries!
Love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful week full of missionary opportunities!
Sister Pennington
Hey, everyone! (August 11)
Hope everyone had a great week!
We found some AMAZING investigators this week!
I wrote about Cicero last week, the man we made a contact with that had already read the Book of Mormon, D&C and Jesus the Christ. He is so amazing, and absolutely loves the gospel. We taught him and his family this week, and he is just loving it. He even told us that he know it's all true, and he had so much knowledge of the gospel, that instead of us teaching the Plan of Salvation, he taught it to his grandchildren that were with us in the lesson. He is awesome, and is praying for a date to be baptized :)
We found an adorable little investigator, Maria Eduarda, who's 10 years old. Everyone in her family is already a member, but her mom is less active, and so for that reason she hasn't been baptized yet. But she's super adorable and wants to be baptized, and her mom is wanting to return to church, so Maria Eduarda is going to be baptized in 2 weeks. He older sister is waiting for her mission call, and should receive it in a few weeks, so the plan is to have Mariana open her mission call the same day as Maria Eduarda's baptism. It's going to be super cool :)
We have another investigator, Marilsa who is so great! She's been taught FOR EVER and she LOVES the gospel. She loves the Book of Mormon, and talks with everyone about how it helped her emotionally and spiritually get through some trials in her life. She knows the gospel is true, and she wants to be baptized (is even starting to look for a dress), but she has some complicated family issues, and so is going to wait for a little bit. But, she went to church on Sunday, and her countenance just glows. You can tell the difference the gospel has already made in her life.
Yesterday was Father's Day here in Brazil, so naturally our lunch after church was the classic Brazilian "Churrasco", or BBQ, which really just means lots of meat, so it was good eatin'! Also, Happy Father's Day, Dad! I thought about you yesterday even though it wasn't Father's day in the States or in the UK...But happy Father's Day anyways! I love you all the way to my back!
Workin' hard! Learnin' alot! Life is great!
Hope y'all have a great week!
Beijos!
Sister Pennington
We found some AMAZING investigators this week!
I wrote about Cicero last week, the man we made a contact with that had already read the Book of Mormon, D&C and Jesus the Christ. He is so amazing, and absolutely loves the gospel. We taught him and his family this week, and he is just loving it. He even told us that he know it's all true, and he had so much knowledge of the gospel, that instead of us teaching the Plan of Salvation, he taught it to his grandchildren that were with us in the lesson. He is awesome, and is praying for a date to be baptized :)
We found an adorable little investigator, Maria Eduarda, who's 10 years old. Everyone in her family is already a member, but her mom is less active, and so for that reason she hasn't been baptized yet. But she's super adorable and wants to be baptized, and her mom is wanting to return to church, so Maria Eduarda is going to be baptized in 2 weeks. He older sister is waiting for her mission call, and should receive it in a few weeks, so the plan is to have Mariana open her mission call the same day as Maria Eduarda's baptism. It's going to be super cool :)
We have another investigator, Marilsa who is so great! She's been taught FOR EVER and she LOVES the gospel. She loves the Book of Mormon, and talks with everyone about how it helped her emotionally and spiritually get through some trials in her life. She knows the gospel is true, and she wants to be baptized (is even starting to look for a dress), but she has some complicated family issues, and so is going to wait for a little bit. But, she went to church on Sunday, and her countenance just glows. You can tell the difference the gospel has already made in her life.
Yesterday was Father's Day here in Brazil, so naturally our lunch after church was the classic Brazilian "Churrasco", or BBQ, which really just means lots of meat, so it was good eatin'! Also, Happy Father's Day, Dad! I thought about you yesterday even though it wasn't Father's day in the States or in the UK...But happy Father's Day anyways! I love you all the way to my back!
Workin' hard! Learnin' alot! Life is great!
Hope y'all have a great week!
Beijos!
Sister Pennington
Oi, gente! (August 4)
Hola, família!
Hope y'all had a great week! My week here was good :)
This area really is great! I love serving here and hope I get the chance to serve here a little bit longer!
I had a few experiences this week that reinforced one of the most importante lessons I've learned on my mission. This lesson is eloquently summarized in D&C 18:
"Remember, the Worth of souls is great in the sight of God"
This week, we made a contact with an older man in the street. He was smiling from ear to ear. We talked with him about the church a little bit, and he told us that he already knew the church. He had already visited several times, had read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Jesus the Christ. He even asked us if we could get some extra copies of Jesus the Christ to give to his friends. We got his address and will go visit him this week.
We found a family this week, relatives of an investigator, who need the gospel so much. We found this Family in the midst of a time of trials, and were able to share the glad message of the gospel with them. They were so grateful for this message.
I'm amazed every single day, at the miracles I am able to see. This really is the Lord's work, and he is preparing people to hear about the gospel, and He puts them in our path (or us in their path) so that they might have the opportunity to hear about the gospel. It is such a blessing, and I am so grateful to be a part of this great work!
God is great!
Love you all so much, and hope you can recognize the miracles God puts in your path this week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
P.S. sorry if there are any weird spelling mistakes, the computer here is auto-correcting to Portuguese...)
Hope y'all had a great week! My week here was good :)
This area really is great! I love serving here and hope I get the chance to serve here a little bit longer!
I had a few experiences this week that reinforced one of the most importante lessons I've learned on my mission. This lesson is eloquently summarized in D&C 18:
"Remember, the Worth of souls is great in the sight of God"
This week, we made a contact with an older man in the street. He was smiling from ear to ear. We talked with him about the church a little bit, and he told us that he already knew the church. He had already visited several times, had read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Jesus the Christ. He even asked us if we could get some extra copies of Jesus the Christ to give to his friends. We got his address and will go visit him this week.
We found a family this week, relatives of an investigator, who need the gospel so much. We found this Family in the midst of a time of trials, and were able to share the glad message of the gospel with them. They were so grateful for this message.
I'm amazed every single day, at the miracles I am able to see. This really is the Lord's work, and he is preparing people to hear about the gospel, and He puts them in our path (or us in their path) so that they might have the opportunity to hear about the gospel. It is such a blessing, and I am so grateful to be a part of this great work!
God is great!
Love you all so much, and hope you can recognize the miracles God puts in your path this week!
Love,
Sister Pennington
P.S. sorry if there are any weird spelling mistakes, the computer here is auto-correcting to Portuguese...)
Valinhos (Sião) (July 29)
Hola, família!
Valinhos is straight up awesome sauce. I love everything about this city, my area and this Ward. The members here are INCREDIBLE! They made me feel at home from the first second, and even more, they are so excited about missionary work, and they have great ideas and plans and carry them out. It's awesome! They aren't scared to share the gospel with their friends! It's awesome! I've actually met some members here that I KNOW I've seen before. I'm definitely very blessed to be here in Valinhos :)
Anyways, Valinhos is part of the Campinas Zone, and about 20 minutes from the Temple in Campinas, so that's pretty sweet :) We were able to go today to the temple, and it was just awesome. There are 2 wards in this city - Bela Vista (where I'm serving) and Nova Suíça. There are 2 elders and 2 sisters in each Ward.
Sister Galarza is my new companion. She was in my zone in my first area, and so I'd already met her. She's awesome. She's from northern Argentina. She joined the church 2 years ago with her sister who is serving a mission as well in Fortaleza, Brazil. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel, and a profound understanding of the doctrines of the church. It doesn't even seem like she's a convert of only 2 years. It's going to be great working with her!
We met a bunch of very interesting children of God this week...
We taught the first lesson to an older lady. We walked into her house and it smelled TERRIBLY of litter box. At first I only saw 2 cats, but the closer I looked, the more cats I found hiding in the shelves, in piles of clothes etc. They all had the crazy cat eyes that look like they're going to murder you and then eat you. There were 6 cats all together, and then the further we went into her house, we found 7 dogs and 2 bunnies....yep. That's real life :)
Probably the craziest experience of my mission so far...
We had a few minutes between appointments, so we decided to knock some doors (Always an interesting experience). Anyways, so we found this lady who let us in, and we talked with her for a while. She's a very dedicated and active member of her church. She asked a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and other things, and as we talked with her, we came to find that she wasn't very interested and just wanted to debate, so we asked her if we could say a prayer with her, and we did. We were getting ready to leave, and she asked us if she could say a prayer with us, "in her own way". Of course we agreed. I already knew what was coming because she told us at the beginning of our visit the name of her church, and I had heard stories from other missionaries about their prayers, but we just went with it anyways. So this lady led us into her basement, shut all of the Windows and curtains and grabbed her veil (because in her church women can't pray without a veil). And she started to pray, and later invited us to kneel down for her to continue her prayer. Her prayer lasted half an hour, during which, she started shouting and crying and "speaking in tongues". It was bizarre to say the least. But of course we claim the privilege to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all people the same privilege .... but it was flippin' weird ...We didn't really know what to say at the end, so I just bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and left her with a copy...what else can ya do :)
Anyways, It really was an awesome week and I'm so excited to share the gospel here in Valinhos. It's going to be a great transfer!
Love you all! Have a great week!
Sister Pennington
Valinhos is straight up awesome sauce. I love everything about this city, my area and this Ward. The members here are INCREDIBLE! They made me feel at home from the first second, and even more, they are so excited about missionary work, and they have great ideas and plans and carry them out. It's awesome! They aren't scared to share the gospel with their friends! It's awesome! I've actually met some members here that I KNOW I've seen before. I'm definitely very blessed to be here in Valinhos :)
Anyways, Valinhos is part of the Campinas Zone, and about 20 minutes from the Temple in Campinas, so that's pretty sweet :) We were able to go today to the temple, and it was just awesome. There are 2 wards in this city - Bela Vista (where I'm serving) and Nova Suíça. There are 2 elders and 2 sisters in each Ward.
 |
| Sister Pennington and Sister Galarza at the temple |
 |
| All of the sisters in Valinhos |
We taught the first lesson to an older lady. We walked into her house and it smelled TERRIBLY of litter box. At first I only saw 2 cats, but the closer I looked, the more cats I found hiding in the shelves, in piles of clothes etc. They all had the crazy cat eyes that look like they're going to murder you and then eat you. There were 6 cats all together, and then the further we went into her house, we found 7 dogs and 2 bunnies....yep. That's real life :)
Probably the craziest experience of my mission so far...
We had a few minutes between appointments, so we decided to knock some doors (Always an interesting experience). Anyways, so we found this lady who let us in, and we talked with her for a while. She's a very dedicated and active member of her church. She asked a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and other things, and as we talked with her, we came to find that she wasn't very interested and just wanted to debate, so we asked her if we could say a prayer with her, and we did. We were getting ready to leave, and she asked us if she could say a prayer with us, "in her own way". Of course we agreed. I already knew what was coming because she told us at the beginning of our visit the name of her church, and I had heard stories from other missionaries about their prayers, but we just went with it anyways. So this lady led us into her basement, shut all of the Windows and curtains and grabbed her veil (because in her church women can't pray without a veil). And she started to pray, and later invited us to kneel down for her to continue her prayer. Her prayer lasted half an hour, during which, she started shouting and crying and "speaking in tongues". It was bizarre to say the least. But of course we claim the privilege to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all people the same privilege .... but it was flippin' weird ...We didn't really know what to say at the end, so I just bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and left her with a copy...what else can ya do :)
Anyways, It really was an awesome week and I'm so excited to share the gospel here in Valinhos. It's going to be a great transfer!
Love you all! Have a great week!
Sister Pennington
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