July 23, 2012

We are here, almost at the end! I can't believe it. Today it began to become real to me. Until now I didn't get it. But I am thankful because now I just want to give it my all until the end. That will be good. And it's warm here again. Don't get me wrong, I am loving it. It feels like Spring. It's just really really weird, but enjoyable. Yesterday we had a visit from the stake president which was so good because the branch was really needing it. It was the first time in 4 months of being here that everyone left church feeling edified. People prepared their classes, started on time, church lasted the whole 3 hours. It was so good! I really loved it! It was also a blessing because a family we have been trying to teach went to church. That was awesome! I was feeling really really low and unanimated so it gave me a good boost. I am so grateful for that. Amazingly grateful. I almost cried at the closing prayer because it just gave this huge feeling that its true, its all so true. This is why I am here. It felt good. I just hope next week everyone prepares their lessons again. We have a baptism marked for the 4th of august. We are trying to get a few more marked this week too. Sadly everyone here, all of the irmãs of the branch, are trying to call dibs on my clothing. It is actually really really annoying. I don't like to eat with some of them because I know it's just going to be asking for my clothes. Which I dont even understand because some of them are really used. But I want to leave the clothes for the mission for the other sisters that will come and don't have warm clothes. Frustrating. I just need to tell them no. I am becoming very excited to see you all. I know 2 weeks will go fast! I love you all! I am praying for all of you! Please keep praying for me. Good luck in harvest! Love, Kat

July 16, 2012

Hello everyone! I was so excited to get to come to the internet today!!!! I am praying for everyone in harvest! Kert and Corissa with the race!! And our family as a whole! I love you all so much!!! This week was ok ish. My companion has this cronic back problem and so we have to walk really really slow. We have had to return to the house a few times so she can put a heating pad on her back. Sometimes I have the feeling it really isn't hurting but that she wants to waste time but I am thinking the best and trying to help her and stay firm these last 3 weeks. Its just hard when we go back to the house because I either get anxious or my animation leaves. Huh, but lets stick to it!! I was thinking a lot Saturday and Sunday about love. There are lots of different relationships and forms of love, husband and wife, parents to children, children to parents, co-workers, ect., you get the point. But I was thinking about how in ALL of our relationships in life we need to do our best to make it christ-like. Our efforts of becoming more like him personally and then acting as such in our relationships brings happiness and light and good things into our lives and the lives of other people. This becomes the pure love of Christ in action in our lives. Always starting first with ourselves. We begin to be more humble, more teachable, showing more love. As we naturally show more love people naturally want to be around us more. Think about the people you like to be around. Why? What feelings do you have while you are around them? For me I know its people I feel loved by. I think of how a scripture says ´and light cleaveth unto light´, I know the scripture says more than that but I can't remember any more than that right now, its cold. I was doing a self evaluation the other day and thinking...do people like to be around me? I started to think through situations and thinking about how I could treat people better. Usually it has nothing to do with the other person and everything to do with the way I treat them or make them feel. Then its a natural thing for them wanting to be around but when they don't come around I think...what am I doing? What can I do better? What are they feeling? And then I try to be better and change. It's obviously a work in progress :) but I have found myself happier this way. I love you all. These were my thoughts this last weekend. It was enlightening for me, you all have probably caught on to that long ago! :) This last weekend we had to travel to another city to take the flu shot. Our city here has 40,000 people but they release like 500 shots one day. 100 the next week. So we knew it would be impossible to get it here and its a public health system so people have to wait in line. In Cruz Alta, another city we travel to frequently for meetings, liberated 20,000 so we decided to go there. While we were on the bus our Lida de Zona called and asked what we were doing and who knew we were traveling. Ya, we had only talked with our district leader that we were going to travel so we had to call the Mission Sister and ask/tell her we were on the bus already she said she would talk to President but no one called again so I think it all worked out. Honestly it hadn't even dawned on me to ask for permission to travel...opps. When we got there the next morning was crazy. We wiated in line for 3 hours to get the shot. There were people coming and coming. There were so many people!!!!!! The line went for blocks and blocks!! But it all worked out. I love you all. Excited to see you all soon! Praying for all of you! Love, Kat

July 9, 2012

Hello my beautiful family!!! How are you all today? It is now officially cold here!!!!!! Wow is it cold! That nice little warm sun has now gone away! BUT its ok, the work goes on. I just get really cold doing it but it isn't raining so its very nice! I'll try to take a picture of my breath inside of the house for you all to see! Hahahah, kind of funnny. Our little branch is little still but our mission president challenged our zone to baptize 100 this month. That means 8 for every companionship so that means we need to find them all this week. We are inviting people to be baptized in the contact. Interesting. The young man named Bruno is really good. He is a cousin of our recent convert named Jonton and he is so quiet but good. He wanted a Book of Mormon and we taught the restoration, he said he will pray. Usually when people say that you don't feel so certain they will but I really think that he will. Pretty cool. Our efforts are coming along. A contact that me and Sister Dias did a few weeks ago, a man said he would go and do a visit at the church. He didn't know what day so we explained where it was and didn't think any more of it. Then on Sunday he shows up. That was neat. He stayed the whole time and paid attention in the lessons. It was really good. Nice to see. I am learning a lot about faith and diligence. Started the Book of Mormon again in Portuguese and I am loving it! I love you all!!! Praying for you all daily and for harvest to go well. Everyone take care. Until 1 month. Weird. Love you all. Love, Kat!

July 2, 2012

Hello family! Everything is going well here, I am with another companion. I was with her in Sao Borja. Its hard sometiems. She is more trunky than me, but its good for me to focus and help her. I don't have lots of time to think about the future so I think its a blessing but its hard when she doesnt want to work, and I am tired. But until the end! Its brining a whole new meaning to enduring to the end! I wonder if this is what its like in a much larger scale when people are in their 80s or 90s? Don't know, just a thought. Our little branch is interesting. Its tough. There were 12 people at church on Sunday and everyone wants us to visit them during the week, but also baptize...its a funny balance. Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching don't function here, its amazing what a huge difference it makes. Everyone wants us to stop by on other days than when we eat with them. Its interesting but I love them. I think I love them more because I have to sacrifice more. The people we were teaching aren't showing progress. Just the other young man that wants to be baptized but his parents aren't so sure yet. This week will be a lot of finding new people but that is good. I love the gospel. I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time in Portuguese and started again. When I kneeled to ask if it was true I thought about all of the things that I had learned and I just felt like ´how could it not be?´ it was really really good. Almost more weird to read it in english now. Funny huh. Time is flying, at least sometimes...hahahha but I am very excited to see you all again. 5 weeks goes quickly. Please pray for me to stay strong until the end. I am so very grateful for this time to serve and learn. I love you all and pray individually for you all daily!! All my love. Love, Kathryn