Mailboxes, Parties, and Pending Mission Calls

[Random bits of conversation between Sister Chatwin and her mom; her regular email begins at the fourth paragraph]

We have been working a lot in the bairro de Santa Cruz. It is about an hour walk from where we live in Alvorada. We have been having a lot more sucess there! We are teaching Cristiane and Elane. They are angels! They are reading their Livro de Mormons and praying. Its difficult for them to come to church, but we have rides arranged every week for them from a member that lives just up the street, but they still havent come. We are focusing on different ways to get our investigators to come to church. Its hard because they cant be baptized until they come to church. A miracle happend yesterday. One of our investigators that is very busy, but sincerely wants the gospel came to church when he had told us earlier that week that he couldnt. He stayed for two of the meetings, but didnt feel prepared for this week and left. We are trying to work with him more this week. His name is Hilton.

Today for p-day Veronica is taking Sister Freitas and I too see some of the sight s of Manaus. I am sure she will take some pictures to send to you!! :) :) I love the pictures you guys send me, I especially loved reading Ivy's stories! Elder Zonts wants Ryan to email him or write him back!!!! Just so you know!!! Love you!

Something neat this week. On my flight back from visiting Heather and family before I left for Brazil, I was talking with a lady,Becky, on the plane about missionary work and so on. We have been emailing back and forth periodically. :) It is fun to talk about the gospel with her, she doesnt get on the computer very much but I love when I get email from her and how she tells me she is helping with the work of the Lord! 

My family I love so much!! :)

I love hearing from you every week!  I love hearing how well you all are doing and how the Lord is blessing your lives! :)

I am glad that Shelby is doing well in her mission! I love Remmington too, and just so he knows, it is always hot here. Next month starts the rainy season here, rain rain rain rain and more rain. :) I am excited to see just how much it rains. :) I love the rain storms here!

Goofy goofy daddy! I love that joke, I just wished it translated the same way to portuguese! LOL. Still sleeping on the couch, even when he has his own room?? I think that kid will always sleep on a couch. :) The Work is a good CD to fall alseep too. I miss falling asleep to it, but its okay :) I walk so much it is super easy to fall asleep at night. :)

Yay Sam's club! Eat some pizza and ice-cream for me! :P yum yum. It sounds like the ward social was a lot of fun! The Westerfield's have a great yard for parties. I sure to miss having FHE over at their house! They are a wonderful family and I have a lot of good memories with them! Tell them hi for me! :)

Yesterday at church we had a man visit who runs and english school here with his wife. He is from America, but his wife is brasilian. He doesnt speak very much portuguese, so I got to translate for him while he was trying to communicate with one of the members in the hall. :) It was difficult not to answer him in portuguese. I had to mentally switch to speak in English with him to figure out what he wanted to say to this Sister. I still think in English a lot, and write lots of letters in English, but it sure was different speaking in English. :) I am excited for what it will be like during Christmas!! lol

I cant wait to see where Ryan will be serving the Lord! I really and so super excited for him! One of my old roomates leaves for the MTC this week, I am so super excited for her! I can't wait for Ryan to experiance the same things and for the many oppourtunities he will have to grow!!!!! :) SO exciting. 

Haha, Tiberius got skunked. That is a funny, does Sterling still want to sleep with him? lol How will you get rid of the smell??

I am glad that Ainsley is doing well. :) I would sure come to class if I got a strippling warrior headband! I am glad that you enjoy primary mom! It reminds me of a talk I read this morning. The Words We Speak, Rosemary M Wixon, I like this quote a lot, "May the words we speak and write to our children reflect the love our Heavenly Father has for His Son, Jesus Christ and for us. And then may we pause to listen, for a child is most capable of speaking great and marvelous things in return..." I love you mom!! Thank you mom and dad for your ever-loving example! :) :)

Some scripture that I liked this week, 2 Nephi 32:8-9 ; 33:3-4 :) The Holy Ghost is key in doing the work of the Lord. Each missionary has angles to help in the work of the Lord. When we speak with the Holy Ghost we speak the language of angels. This is such a powerful example as I think of the family members helping me and the strength of their testimonies. If I speak with the Holy Ghost than they are able to speak the things that our investigators need to hear. This amazes me everytime I think of it. :) 

Again I though of Nauvoo this week. Such a special place for so many people. The missionaries there are amazing. They allow so many people to learn and grow in many different ways. I love the feeling of peace as I remember and ponder on my experiences in Nauvoo. :)

I have so much more I want to say to you all, but I am running out of time! :) Just know that I will always love you and will have so many things to talk about during christmas and when I return home! I am excited for the joys in your lives and the experiences that you have each and every week! This life is amazing and we have so many oppourtunities that we are blessed with! Let us help our brothers and sister come to know the  light and joy that they can find in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Read The Hope of God's Light by President Ucthdorf, share something you learned from it with someone you know this week. Remember every member a missionary! We are all missionaries and we share the Gospel every day by our examples and the words we speak. Also, you should read Your Holy Places, by Ann M Dibbs. :) :)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!

Ciao, 

Sister Chatwin

Return from St. Louis

Hello Dear Family!! 

I am doing well! As for transfers, Sister Freitas and I are staying in Flores! My friend Sister Morales will be arriving tomorrow, I hope I get to see her before she leaves for her new area! She is the one that I met on facebook who lives in Peru. She entered the CTM the day after I left. We always seem to miss eachother, but I hope that I will have the chance to see her this time!! I hope this because we live right by the office where all the new missionarys go when they first arrive.

Im not really sure what other oppourtunities are out there for me. I know that our mission consists of four different states. I really want to serve in the area of Tefe, but I am pretty sure only Elders and Senior couples serve there. :)

The cake was  Sister Freitas idea. I didnt even think about it, and it was funny because when we were making it Irma Tareza was making a fuss of how we didnt need to make a cake every time someone was baptized. She is right, but when Sister Freitas wants to do something, we do it. She is very stiff in the head, but I love her and our Heavenly Father is helping me to understand just how much he loves her too!

I am glad that Owasso did well this year! It sounds like a fun show and I wish I could see it! :) Oklahoma is always represented well! Very good marching bands! It sound like you all had a really fun time in St. Louis! I want to hear all about it.

Veronica is very sweet! She tells us that the rainy season starts in November here. I am excited because when it rains, it rains. :) I love the storms here, but my companion doesnt. It is funny to see her jump every time there is a loud crack of thunder. :) We were doing a service project this week and Irma Susanna put a fake spider in Sister Freitas hands. I never heard her scream so loud, it made me think of all the funny jokes that mom pulls on people. Susannah is a vet, and right now her house has a tick infestation. I sat and killed ticks with the cap on my highlighter for three hours. They are everywhere.

Parabens for Ryan! (quick insert, I love the happy birthday song here. We sang it so loud in the CTM cafeteria for my birthday!) I am so happy for him and super glad that he found another job! Such a blessing. I am still on pins and needles waiting to hear where he will be serving!!! I CANT WAIT MUCH LONGER. 

What a goof he and Remmi are! I think that we should all go to the zoo as soon as I get back! It sounds like a good idea. ....hmmmm I wonder if I should take Remmington with me. Brincando. :) Of course Remmi will come, I also want to go to an aquarium and visit tons of Musuems.  :) 

Love you love you love you and I pray for you all every day! I hope Mommy feels better soon!! :):)

This week I met a Sister that served in your mission dad! She served in 86&87. She doesnt recognize your name, but she was so happy when I told her that you served there! She has so much love for her mission! Her presidents were kennedy and neelman. Sister Varela is here name... Just something cool!

-Quick sidenote

Christmas

You can post on Facebook and my blog that what I want most is letters from friends that tell me of the blessings they have in their lives. :) You can post this on my wall too! I love this Gospel and I want to hear how it has blessed your life!

And for mom, a small sewing kit would be nice. But she can look at her school emails and put together a list for those who are asking. 

Annnd I would like the address of Sister Johnnelin Pearcy

We were in a hurry today, or in other words Sister Freitas was impatient and I forogt to bring the Liahona with me that had the articles and notes that I wanted to share with you all. Next week I will remember them! I promise!! There were some really good articles and of course I dont remember what they are called or which Liahona they are found in.  Alas lds.org is a life saver. June 2013. First off, I love love love the first presidency message, walking in circles. I engouage you to follow the links online and look at the graphs and statistics. Very interesting. Worship the True and living God by Spencer W. Kimball was my favorite. It is a very good talk and I learned a lot from it. Feb 2013 The talk on integrity is  another good one.  I wish I had them with me so I could share some of the quotes and notes that I liked. 

I heard form Elder Zonts today! It is so nice to talk with my friends! It deffinitely brings a huge smile to my face when I hear from them! This is why I would like letters for Christmas, sol isso. :) Letters and reading the blessings of the Gospel. Its perfect.

I hope all stays well with you!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH! I cant wait to see you again!

Ciao, 

Sister Chatwin

Only 17 More Shopping Days Till Halloween!

Yay! I am so glad that you got the letters!! :) 

Im anxious to find out who the new Stake President is! I hope Ryans call comes soon!! I am really happy that he found a job! :) Did you guys like the little card I made for him? I though it was so funny and perfect for him! :) 

As for Veronica, I love her family! They are so kind to us, and I am for sure writing their addresses in my notebook incase I get transfered this transfer.  

WOO HOO! Owasso band is the best! Best of luck to you all this coming week! :)

Remmi and I will go to the zoo when I get back. lol :) FOR SURE.  There isnt much to do here in Flores for p-day. We usually clean the house, do our laundry. We have a washing machine, but it takes a really long time to wash clothes. We have a park nearby and one week Sister Freitas and I sat and read conference talks.  In some areas I bet people still do their laundry by hand! The Brasil Manaus Mission contains four different states, and I am sure not all the areas are as well off as Flores is.

I love my scriptures and I am glad that Sister Tillery enjoyed the letter!! It makes me super happy that you all got them. 

As for sending pictures.. I have given up trying on these computers. I have two SD cards with me and I think I will send one when the other is full. Just like warren did when he was on his mission. 

Ivy! Wow. I want to see pictures. :) I bet she is as pretty as a princess!

I dont know about Halloween here, but we did have Dia das Criancas a few days ago. We had a festival at the church for the children, and Sister Freitas brought one of our investigators sons to it. They had a good time. Later that night (Saturday) we had the baptism of Israel. We got to bring the other son of the same investigator this time. 

I agree with you Dad and Susie, its amazing how the gospel changes people. At the same time I marvel at how little of an influence I am in this work. This is the work of the Lord, not of me. The Holy Ghost is the most important part of this work. 

The ward in Flores is mainly a retention ward. We have a lot of inactives, so we have been going through our ward list and knocking on doors and trying to find these people. Usually the person we are trying to find no longer lives there, or the address doesnt exist. But last week we had a sucess! We got to talk to Andre and invited him to come back to church, and he actually came yesterday! He told us that he has been a member for almost a year. It is amazing the infuence missionaries have in the lives of people. I dont notice the influence I have until something like this happens. I merely go throughout my day trying to do the work. Working with our fear or harsh feelings. This work is voluntary and I volunteered to talk with many people who are not interested in this message. When we plan for our days we choose a number that is double the number of investigators we want at the end of the day. For example, if we talk to 8 people, than at least 4 should accept our message... You have to talk with a lot of people if you want the few successes that are out there. 

These past few weeks I got to try some new fruits! 

Jaca - honestly it looks like banana slugs and it just as slimey as them too. It is very sweet, but you really have to get used to the slimeyness.

Bananas galore! You can buy them right of the stock here. I do love my bananas.

Irma Tareza ( mother of Veronica) makes some delicious din din, and juices a lot of mangos and other fruits. YUM.

Also she made some delicious mingau this past week. I want to learn how to make it. 

Almost every kind of soda here is some kind of guarana. They are all good, but I prefer guarana bare and guarana antartica. I am excited to go to the temple when I get back and visit cafe do brasil!! :) 

Yup, lots of yummy food here in Brasil, and the members always tell me to eat more. I am eternally not hungry. Which is a good thing. lol

I love you all so so so so much! :) :)

Remeber to re-read or re-watch conferance talks when you can!! They are so inspiring and I love going over my notes at night and reading new things. 

Last night I read the story of Ruth. I sure do love that story. She is such and example and service and loyalty. I want to be like her! 

One thing that I like in my notes was this, from the talk by Richard G. Scott

 Sincere thourough and clear repentance

 Make convenants and recieve for yourself

 Then for your ancestors

 Share the gospel

 Serve faithfully in all church callings, especially in VT and HT. Be a real friend.

 Serve the members of your own family

 Make the spiritual fortification of you spouse and children a high priority.

 Fill your life with service to others.

 Keep the commandments.

Yup. Conference is great. 

I love my family so my family so much! I bought some fun stickers from a members little shop they have in their home. Madagascar, snow white, and tweety bird. They dont have a lot of stickers here, but I like using them to make my letters to you all more fun! Right now I am using the stickers that came with my notebooks. I have one that I got while I was in the CTM and I bought another one here to write vocab in. It has a bunch of Disney princess stickers in it. 

:) :) :) 

Anywhos, I have 30 minutes left. I will write my letter to Presidente Klein and then if I think of anything else to send I will. :) If I stay in Flores I will buy more time on the computers next week.

:) Ciao, 

Sister Chatwin

A Wonderful Weekend

Thanks Dad!!

I did get to watch conference, even in english! 

It was spectacular! I loved every minute of it and especially when we sang. I couldnt help but think of how cool it was that we were all singing at the same time!! :)

Yup. Her name is Veronica. She leave in November I think. I gave her your facebook name and she is going to try and find you. She took some pictures of me and Sister Freitas that she wanted to send. Her family is the sweetest and they take really good care of us!  [Veronica was called to the Missao Sao Paulo Sul - the same mission in which Kevin served.]

That is really neat that you get to see one of your old bishops in General Conferance!!

I loved conferance so much and I wish that I could tell you all the things that I have learned! :) 

TIGGER. I like the pictures.  :) I think it is really funny that his friends ratted him out! And of all people to mom. lol :) Thanks for all the pictures! I really enjoy seeing them!!

I dont know why I just sent that, because I am not even done... 

My ward is small. The members are really good about feeding us all the time, we are getting to know them better and are trying to work with them more. Many of the messages in this Conferance will help.  We are having family night tonight with Veronica and her family. We will try to bring an investigator with us!

We had a few investigators come to General Conferance yesterday for the last session. One was one we  had never contacted before, but one of the children of another investigator wanted to come and so she brought him. It was neat to see how she said that she wished she had had a paper and pencil to right some notes. I quickly gave her the church website and told her that she could see them again and take the notes she wanted. :)

Life is good. :) As we continue to try and improve ourselves everyday the Lord will bless us. I had and interesting thought yesterday that | would like to share with you all! :) Before we left the CTM the Elders in our district gave us blessings. In this blessing it said something along the lines; He wants and needs to hear from you. He desires to be at your side.  How true is that! The Lord desires to be at each of our sides, to help us grow and learn, to love us when we need the love of our Father in Heaven.  We have a duty to open the door and let him in. I know I want him by my side, but because of our fallen state and our sins he cannot dwell beside us. This is why we have the Atonement! To repent and become clean of our sins so that one day our Father in Heaven can dwell beside us! Some day we will allow him the pleasure of being at our sides!  Luke18:27  

Thinking of this inspires me to follow the example of Jesus Christ. To try and be more obedient and sincere in my daily doings. To live the commandments and obey and seek the blessings which I need. To think that our Saviour is standing at the door anxiously waiting to join us, but unable breaks my heart. I have a new understanding now of how much love our Saviour has for us, for each of his children.

I hope you all are enjoying your time at school, work and band! 

One funny thing, during one of the conference talks it mentioned the comments of a young boy discussing how would you feel if someone promised you something every day, yet never did it. I immediately thought of how I promised Remmington we would go to the zoo before I left on my mission and how we never went. I AM SO SORRY! :) Remmi, keep learning portuguese and during Christmas we can practice! I dont know if he still is, but I remember him saying he wanted to learn so he could talk to me! He can even use my grammer book if he wants!! :) :)

I love you alll so so so so so so so so so much!!! I hope you continue to read your scriptures every day and learn to love those around you! :) I pray for you all the time!!   Know that the Lord loves you all very much!!

-Sister Chatwin

Oh another thing. I love my mommy very much! I thought about her a lot during D. Todd Christoffersons talk. :) Also, if you havent sent my christmas box yet I would love some granola bars... Healthy food is really expensive here, especially granola bars. :) LOVE LOVE!