Branching out of the CTM!!-Letter #7

Hi Family!!! Hey Friends!!!

 

This week was absolutely fantastic!!! BECAUSE...  Monday we went proselyting!!!! We went out of the CTM!!!!! -That is exciting in and of itself, but! We had about 3 and a half hours to go contact the people around the CTM!!!! It was fantastic! Me and my companions had 7 Books of Mormon to teach about and challenge people to read. My favorite was with our very first one...

 

We had made a few contacts already, they had either already had one, -so of course we invited them to church- or they just weren't interested. Then we were about to cross a street when I looked down the road and saw a guy sitting on the curb just smoking a cigarette... we were about to cross the street and I told my companions to wait. We went to the guy, found out he was 24, had 4 brothers and sisters, don't remember where he's from, but this was our first contact that really seemed interested. -And! he thought we were from Brazil! Bah.. nope. 7 weeks! He was really shocked, he said our Portuguese was really great! That helped me feel a bit more confident... but my favorite part about sharing the Book of Mormon with him was looking him strait in the eye, and testifying that it was true and how I found out for myself... MAN!!!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!

 

The other contacts that were interested were really receptive! I sure hope and pray they really take the time to read and ponder... and pray! I love it! We gave one to a woman who must of said she was Baptist about 3 times, but still was interested to know more... YES! Then, here in Sao Paulo there are little cafe's on a lot of the corners, a place to hang out really, so we stopped and talked to a few men and a few different restaraunts. They were all very kind! One, was catholic but didn't see the need for God in his life... Oh man, we bore testimony that God lives, and he DOES love him... so cool to see the curiosity begin to swell in their eyes! Oh man... I LOVE THE WORK!

 

I have learned so much about FAITH this week... I read a great article by Jefferey R. Holland titled "The Best is Yet to Be"... or come... and it was fantastic! Faith is looking forward! Learning from the past and looking for a bright future! I love it. Read D&C 68:6.... my NEW favorite scripture! :D I love this gospel!

 

HEY!!!!! I have a brand new cousin!!!!! Yay! Congratulations Aunt CaraLee! I am so excited to meet Sophia Louise! :D

 

I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you so much!

 

Love,

 

Sister Waite

 

P.S. Thank you Maddison Olsen, from my primary class! I got your note and your Mom's letter! Both VERY sweet! Your response is coming! :D

Chilly Update-Letter #6

Hello Family and Friends!

This week, Sao Paulo has been so cold! The other morning, we walked out of the cafeteria to our breath!!! Wow! I never knew that would happen... it's been rainy and wet. I love it!

Something exciting this week... we had eggs! Haha twice! It's always a treat to see something new for the menu. :D

TRC this past week we were role-playing as the investigators for week 2 missionaries. It's neat to see just HOW much I have learned while being here... I know exactly where those elders have been! Then, just as fabulous, Heavenly Father blessed me with that afternoon... in class our instructor put on a few films with investigators telling their story, they all were from different parts of Brazil and WOW! i didn't understand a thing!!! :D I'm grateful for the checkpoints Heavenly Father gives us... letting us know we're doing good, and letting us know how we can progress. I'm so grateful for that!

GREG I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!! You will be a fantastic missionary! I hope your talk went well! I hope you have fun today on your first day being a missionary! You'll love it!!!!

I'm so grateful for the power of personal revelation, a lot of things have pointed to that this week for me. Just know that you have someone who is ALWAYS there to hear your prayers and in return... HELP you! Because He knows us perfectly, and He gives us opportunities so that we can learn more about ourselves too.

Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sis. Waite :)

STORY TIME- Letter #5

Hello Family and Friends!!!! :D

 

This week has been the same as the others... Portuguese is coming ever so slowly... but! I AM participating in the lessons more with my companions... as in I am asking questions and answering and testifying like mad! Woot woot! I feel like I can understand a lot better than what I can speak right now... and thats fine! Since everything is generally the same... I decided to share a favorite moment in the CTM! :D

 

 "The Moment When Sister Waite EXPLODED with Excitement:

 

It was just this past Monday! a few of our friends who are in the districts ahead of us went proselyting and told us their experience with talking in portuguese and seeing people read the Books of Mormon they passed out. Well, you know Sister Waite, she just beamed! So proud of her Elder friends and was just hopping and skipping on the way to dinner. This is when things really began to sink in... that I am a missionary! I get to do that someday! I am a missionary!!!!! I was just so excited and squeaked everywhere I went... like a mouse. Then, my companion Sis Johnson hugged me to calm me down and breathe, but then she said something that just brought on the tears of excitement... she said, "Sister Waite, you are here! You are living your dream!" That did it... BOOM! Sister Waite on a high again!

 

I love this gospel and this work! I love being a missionary and feeling the spirit. I know I can't do ANYTHING on my own... especially learn portuguese, but I am so grateful to have the Lord on my side, because I can do anything!

 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

 

Love,

 

Sister Waite

God Bless America- Letter #4

Hello Family, Hello Friends!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!

Can I just say, today has been the best day of the WHOLE mission!!!!! Well... everyday is... but, today especially! I am so proud to be an American! I was thinking about it today, and I have now been out of the country the longest ever in my life right now... crazy! I definitlely miss 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'! I will tell you about this week first, and then the great things of what today has brought so far.

This last Sunday was Fast Sunday, and here at the CTM we start our fast the night before, no dinner on Saturday. I hadn't fasted for this long in a while and was a little nervous. But I am so grateful for the chance to fast... and Heavenly Father blesses us when we do! Thats for sure! I shouldn't have been apprehensive at ALL! it was a wonderful experience! During Sacrament meeting we had a Testimony Meeting and it was one of the most powerful meetings I've had so far being a Missionary. There's something about everyone in the room being a Missionary... we all had sacrificed so much to be here, we all WANT to be here and do our best, and we all have POWERFUL testimonies of the Gospel and of the Savior. I LOVED it! I am so grateful for the chance to share my testimony every day while being a Missionary! If you have a testimony... share it! Don't hide it under a rock bushel! ;)

Sunday was also our 1/2 way mark interviews... -odd, since we have only been here 4 weeks, but its alright! Just weird to think about.... 1/2 way done with the CTM!? Ah! I also had quite the nice nap on Sunday... I won't even say how long it was, just that my companions had to poke my back to wake me up... my name wouldn't cut it. haha I was out! Sunday Devotional me and a few other sisters sange "As Sisters in Zion" and it was really pretty! Of course, in Portuguese. -All the prayers and hymns we sing are in Portuguese, way legal!-

On Monday night we said goodbye to our good friends... Elder Souza and Elder Vasquez... they were great to sit by at dinner and talk to! well... attempt to speak portuguese. They are going to be fabulous missionaries! I am so proud of them! They both have sacrificed a lot to be here... they are really good examples to me.

Wow, the FUNNIEST moment of the CTM experience happened this week as well! In our class, our teacher ONLY speaks portuguese now... which is alright, I pick up may 60% of whats going on... kinda. Then to help us speak more and use the different verb tenses we told a story as a class. We each said a bit then the next person added on... we all know this game right?! Well, my companion started it off by saying something like, 'When I was younger i went to primary and i really liked it. the teachers loved me, but none of the kids did.' My turn: none fo the kids liked me becuase I would sing loud and bad all the time... so on and so forth. well the story continues on to Darth Vader coming and playing soccer with Sis Johnson, her mom calls her home, where she finds mickey mouse, but oh no! Its actually darth vader again! It was the highlight of the CTM laughs! SO funny! We still talk about it, and I'm still sore from laughing so hard... ahhahah!

Last night was so wonderful! We had the Tuesday Night Devotional and at the end we sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and WOW! This was the first time I REALLY felt the home sick feeling! I just thought about Stadium of Fire, the Provo Parade when we were younger, Hot Air Balloons, Lots of food, fireworks... man. I loved it! And it made me realize how much I miss America! Don't worry or feel bad though, if anything, it boosted me to be better because I am proud of who I am, where I came from, and why I am here in Brazil! God bless America! :D

Today, we went to the temple and it was beautiful! As always, and we came back to the CTM to the Cafeteria decorated out the wa-zoo!!! Holy cow it was so amazing! Balloons everywhere, table runners with confetti, a whole table just for the ice-cream bar... yes ice-cream! It's been so long since we've seen each other it was divine! Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and so many toppings! I love today! It has been great! P-days are always so much fun, but today... its the Fourth of July of COURSE it's going to be great!

I love you all so much! Remember who you are and what you stand for... :)

Love,

Sister Waite