Arvore Grande: Bus Ride Gone Wrong

It was a very interesting week! We started off the week strong with transfers and the first day I could tell that I am going to love Sister Viera. She is absolutely amazing with incredible testimony and I am very excited to work with her on this transfer.

One thing that I absolutely love about this area is that the members are AMAZING! They give us rides, buy us food, and they participate! We are doing a Book of Mormon challenge with the youth of the ward to give away a Book of Mormon. Each week a different student from the Seminary Class has to pick someone to give a Book of Mormon to! It has been just a few weeks but the youth are opening up to doing missionary work and sharing with us their experiences! We also did practices with them and it was really cute and funny to see where they are now. It is weird to think that just a few years ago I was in their shoes, not knowing what I would say or how I would share about the Book of Mormon. Now as I talk about the Book of Mormon with people I hardly know, not just my ability to talk and explain has grown, but also my testimony. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love this Book. I am so grateful for the people who had to make big sacrifices for us to have the Book of Mormon today, in various languages. 

This week we went to Brigadeiro Tobias again, a part of our area that is farther away. We decided to take the Bus this time. That was the wrong decision. The bus was 20 minutes late to arrive and then passed right by the place we wanted to stop. It was a sad feeling looking out the window and seeing where we wanted to go, come and go again. The bus driver let us off at a random bus stop in the middle of the highway, and so we decided to call Uber to take us the rest of the way. In the end it all worked out but it was a funny experience.

We marked a Baptism date with our friend Eduardo, please pray for him that it all goes well! We had a family night with him and some ward members yesterday. Cookies were involved and they were delicious!!

During one of our lessons this week about the Plan of Salvation, we decided to sing "I Am A Child Of God" and the spirit was so strong. I know that I am a daughter of God and that all of us are  children of God. He has a big love for each and every one of us! 

This week I have been reading in 2 Nephi, the chapters of Isaiah. I have been reading really slowly and with the help of some study guides to understand what is going on and I am loving it!! As we read the Book of Mormon slowly, with the intent to understand, we can learn many new things! One thing that I love was how Isaiah was talking about the different names of the Savior and I later came across this quote by Elder Holland:

"It is as if the judge in that great courtroom in heaven, unwilling to ask anyone but himself to bear the burdens of the guilty people standing in the dock, takes off his judicial robes and comes down to earth to bear their stripes personally. Christ as merciful judge is as beautiful and wonderful a concept as that of Christ as counselor, mediator, and advocate."

This part especially touched me and I remembered something that was said in our meeting with the Stake Leaders last week. They said, "We will not ask anything of you that we ourselves are not willing to do." As they called upon the wards to work with the missionaries and help the missionary work, they started first by giving the example. They were participating in lessons with the missionaries. And because of that, they can ask others to as well.

Our Savior does not ask us to do anything that He did not do. He loved everyone. Despite the difficult circumstances in His life, He gave the perfect example of how we should act. I love my Savior, and the more that I come to know Him through the scriptures, through the prophets and apostolos, and through my own difficult experiences, the more I am grateful for the example that He has. I am grateful that He is merciful to me. 

This is why I share the gospel. This is why everyday I wake up and put on my missionary tag. I want everyone to feel the same joy and love that I feel from my Savior. I want everyone to come to know Him, to come unto Him.

I love you all and I invite each and everyone of you to do something that will help you come close to the Savior this week!