The Lord Can Make Your Weaknesses Strengths

WEEK 3- CTM, São Paulo, Brazil

Campinas Temple, Brazil

My district is amazing! Truly. I love each and every one of them! And my roommates are hilarious! But they leave on tuesday because they're Brazilian and they only stay 3 weeks not 6 (I'm honestly very grateful for these six weeks. I need them for sure!)

Today we had real meatballs and mash potatoes like from IKEA for lunch! Ahh! It was like being home! It was so wonderful. Every time we've thought we were being served mashed potatoes it ended up being this strange corn flour mush or something... To be honest we are still not sure what was in it... haha! But today, it was real. And oh my was it a blessing in disguise. You know that thing I was say about the Lord providing? Apparently today a simple mercy was granted haha! And prayer works, trust me! I literally lose my lunch card every day and whenever I pray, I find it in a minute! 

Brazil is sooo beautiful! And the language! It's like music…that I can't understand-ha! Except today, we went to the Sao Paulo temple and I didn't even need headphones. Yay! It was so awesome! Truly and surely this is not my own knowledge that has led me to learn so quickly. I still have a long way to go and it can be discouraging occasionally when I have no idea what is going on.. At that point we just nod and smile and make our eyes widen as if we totally understand and wait for them to say something that makes sense haha! I think they know when we have no idea what is going on though! haha! I was reading in Moroni 10 the other day though and it was exactly what I needed to hear! It was talking about how the Lord will give us gifts specifically that of
tongues and the gift of tonuges. I'd been stuggling a lot with understanding and it's sometimes hard to know what to study in order to learn the language or prepare lessons for investigators but when I read that, it was like have a weight lifted off my chest. I think I just realized Im not going to be perfect in the language by my third week and definetly not by my sixth, but that's ok. The Lord will provide. As long as my focus is on my investigators and on my purpose as a missionary, then I will recieve whatever is necessary from the Lord in the very hour of my need. The Lord can make you weaknesses strengths if you only turn to him!

Ok I gotta go... LOVE YOU! sooo Much. To the moon and more!
XO Sister Hemmert

CTR- Come Thou Righteous, Return to Christ

WEEK 2- CTM, São Paulo, BRAZIL

It is wonderful here! Truly! My district is incredible and my companion is a blessing! She speaks fluent ingles and spanish so she is picking up portuguese very quickly and being a great help to, a little American from Oregon. Everyone asks, "De onde voce?" When I answer Oregon the common answer is, "oh..uh..Muito Bom!" But when my companion says Texas everyone responds! Haha! Everyone knows Texas!

So my P day is actually on friday's but first week missionaries don't have a p-day:( However, we have a General Authority coming tomorrow so our P day was moved to today! We went to the Sao Paulo Temple! It was amazing! It has stained glass everywhere so that the sun can shine right in! 

In a bit we are going to go out of the CTM for the first time and across the street. Apparently there is a place that you can get a cookie for surviving your first week! We can also send photos from this place, which is something we can't do in the CTM. Just to let you know. I can send photos in the field but none through the CTM computers. Other missionaries use this cookie place though! Apparently they scan letters to email to your families also! Ill look into it!

Presidente Grahl and his wife are so sweet! Sister Grahl stopped me the other day, and mind you she doesn't speak much english, but she grabbed my arm and goes, "I LOVE your dress!" Obrigada!! (Blue and white stripped dress, Piperandscoot. haha) It was so sweet! 

In reference to the picture of the very tall Elder in Week 1 post:

That picture was seriously the most hilarious thing! We all had just gotten here after 24 hours of travel and the first thing they had us do was take mug shots for the police and then pictures with the Presidente. I don't know that Elder well because he is in another district but I think the fact that all the other Elders stand at the same height in a perfect line makes his height seem even greater! We were actually just looking at that picture and all laughing! Almost everyone on my side of it are in my district except for one of the Elders, our district leader, Elder Sinsel. If I remember right he is standing next to the tallest Elder... Maybe

Our district is always laughing! Possibly because we don't understand portuguese. Possibly because Sister Hawkes is comedian. I pulled out my Essential Oils the other day and offered them to her: "So many LDS people us those! False prophets of the medicine world. Here put this oil on your head. Uh..oh..thanks, I'll just take an excedrin." 

Or we were doing this portuguese assignment a couple days ago on progressive tense and Elder Batchelor said, "sister hawkes tell us a joke."

Sister Hawkes: "This assignment.." 

But really we all love it so much! 

And the language is beautiful! We have Brazilian roommates who are so sweet! And loud! Sister Recla and Bento. Sister Recla sings american songs constantly and when we first met her she flipped her hair and goes, "I'm Beyonce." (She looks like the Brave princess Merida though.) And that's about as much english as she can speak other than when she is singing. But once she learns more English she is going to go play Volleyball for BYU"

We have these lessons with instructors that pretend to be investigators. One is named Sueli. It is so strange because we have truly been teaching her and truly LOVE Sueli even though we know she is Irma Cassiano.... And she actually had to leave to take care of her Pai but we got her to commit to baptism and it was incredible! The real Sueli was baptized a few years ago! Yay!

To leave on a spiritual note Elder Batchelor said something truly profound the other day: CTR is not Choose the Right. It's Come thou Righteous Return To Christ." I think that has just stuck we me so much! It was what I needed to hear. 

We are so blessed to be here and I am honestly so grateful for these people. Everyone WANTS to be here. We want to serve. We're excited to serve and there is a reason we are here. I love you all. 

Love from Brazil,

Sister Hemmert

Hopefully I answered everyones questions! So little time! XOXO

I LOVE BRAZIL!

WEEK 1- Arrival at CTM, São Paulo, BRAZIL

The new missionaries entering the CTM in São Paulo, Brazil after a long flight!

The flights were good, but long! Especially the last flight, but I met with a bunch of missionaries in Atlanta. My companion is from Texas! Sister Carillo, and she is super sweet! She is also going to Porto Alegre! Send my love to everyone and let them know that I LOVE Brazi! It's amazing!

Much love, Sister Hemmert

p.s. I'm typing on a Portuguese keyboard and it is surprisingly difficult! So ignore any errors :)