The more it rains, The more HANDSOME your husband will be!

Wow. To say it as simply as possible. This week flew by!! 

It just a few days I will have one year on the mission. Who can believe it?? 

This week I had 4 companions; Why you might ask? Well, they decided, Sister Hemmert is nice, she'll be able to handle 4 changes in one weeks time. She'll be able to handle running across Bagé to pick up her companions and running back to her area to work. I served with a Brasileira, Chilena, and an Americana. Sounds like the start of a Dad joke: There was a Brasileira, Chilena, and an Americana eating at a restaurante....

Anways, we had a divisão with our Sister Leaders and Sister Aranha went to Pelotas for the week. One day I will tell you all about her adventures. How she was attacked by frogs, peed on by a dog, and had to help people hunt for their furniture because it flooded there. 

Luckily our only problem here was flooding! We were headed out, ready to cross a field when we felt a couple raindrops. Not a problem a little rain doesn't hurt. They always say that we getting rained on on the mission our husband gets more handsome! haha Weeeelllll,, the sky opened up and the thunderclouds rolled in and we started running, "Volte Volte!! Go back, go back!!" I yelled for Sister Wright (Utah). Luckily Thales and Diennifer lived super close by! We sprinted for their house and ended up giving an amazing lesson with them about the Word of Wisdom.

THis week we're working really hard to help our Pesquisadores follow the Word of Wisdom. I'm working a lot with Rosangela. She smokes a lot. Like a lot. 

And this week she finally said that she wants to stop. Now she just has to decide to stop. It will be a battle. But we are doing everything. Everything, to help her.

I read today a talk by Jeffrey R Holland that said, "You can change." Repentance isn't a punishment, but a process to feel more the love of God. We need to repent. We need to recognize that the Lord truly loves us and wants us to be the best that we can. We can change. He will help us. The only person that wants you to remain the same, wants you to believe that you can't survive your difficulties is the adversary. He knows your weakness. But only your weakness. The Lord gave you this weakness and knows not only your weakness but also your strengths. He knows who you can become and will help you become this person. Someone divine. Trust in Him. Love Him. and follow His commandments. 

with love

SIster Hemmert

Pray With Real Intent

This week was crazy! We had a conference with the mission that was super great and received the new mission rules and hours and goals. Will be having a bit of an adjustment time but so far it's going great. These new rules are just showing that the Lord is hastening the work here. Everyday we will be working just a little bit more to accomplish our new goals and rules. It will be an adventure but Sister Aranha and I are up for the task!

Some of the highlights. I sending someone on a mission! Emerson, Recent convert, was already planning on going on a mission. But he is super close to turning 25. Which means he won't be able to. He's been waiting because of his work. They need to release his payment and his work card but they haven't done this yet. Well. I told him just trust in the Lord and send your papers, Rapaz! (with the Spirit of course.) Nephi 17:3 

He's filling out his papers and will be headed to the temple for the first time to do baptisms! I promised him that there he would feel the spirit testifying for him that this is the Lord's work. That and a servant of the Lord would be praying and picking the mission in which he would serve!

ALSO,

We are teaching an amazing family. Edivaldo(Father), Thales(18), and Diennifer(13). I love this family. It has been an experience and adventure teaching them. To be honest, at first we didn't know why we had to keep returning to their house. They weren't reading or praying or showing interest. And then. These weeks ago they moved for the same street as the church. They live in the last house that is right in front of one of our secret pathways/shortcuts to another part of our area! So they are also looking out for a gente. 

Thales has many doubts, but when we passed by his house this week we had prepared a message for him to answer these questions. We had had an activity in the church with the youth earlier and it had rained, stopping the fun! We were still soaked when we arrived at his house later. Literally, it flooded everywhere! 

We were freezing cold (because the temperature is dropping during the night and the only problem was that he was alone and his dad and sister were sleeping. We were just going to come back the next day when he asked, "Can you just offer a prayer for me here (on the front porch) before you go?" He grabbed a couple of chairs, in the process waking up Diennifer (on her birthday. Woohoo 13! we had all celebrating during the activity until the floods came). 

Us four sat down and started our message. It was amazing. 

 Afterwards he expressed his sincere desire to change. And then asked if he could give the last prayer. 

To explain, he normally prayers like a robot. Something he has memorized. Without the spirit. We had just finished explaining for him the importance of a sincere prayer. And so we bowed our heads and before he started to pray he whispered, "But this time I'm going to pray a little different, ok?" 

And it was the most sincere prayer I have heard during my whole mission. He really had the true intent and prayed to know that what we were teaching was true. It was amazing. 

I invite all of you this week to pray with real intent. Think about every. single. word. Remember that you are talking to a person. Someone real. You are really, truly talking with your Father. Don't forget this. Don't repeat anything. Don't pray for the same thing over and over. Think about how annoying it would be if you used the same words every single day to talk to your best friend! Use different words. because today is different from yesterday. and tomorrow you will face something different from today. So, prepare. Pray. And have Patience. The Lord thy God is with thee. He hears you.

With Love

Sister Hemmert  

Birthdays, Cake, and Baptisms!

Wow. I dont have time. Firstly, thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! I'm truly feeling your love from here! It was so great to hear from you all and know that everyone is doing well! 

To let you know, for my birthday we had a wild pday. We stayed at home and slept because we we're exhausted! haha It was wonderful. Wish granted! It's very rare to rest on the pday. 

As you will see in the file attached, we had quite an experience this last week! To explain better than the Elders explained in the journal haha: 

Eliane is one of our pesquisadoras that we have here. She is amazing but during her life she has passed many experiences we can not even imagine. She started to explain during our visit and I did not have a a response for her. I couldn't even think of a scripture that could truly help her. And so, I prayed. I opened the scriptures and had marked in Alma 22:14-16. I had her read the verses and the room filled with the spirit. Crying she recognized that through the Lord's power, because of the atonement she could repent and receive forgiveness. It was the most spiritual lesson I have ever given. Because it was me. Its never me that talks, but the Lord. I'm a just an instrument. I just say and do what He commands. This is His work and His gloria and I'm living it for Him. 

The last week of the transfer we had three baptism for our ward! Technically speaking it was the baptism for the Elderes, but this family visits our ward because the Grandma (wife of the patriach) Leda, lives here. 

Marili, Francielen, and little Felipe. It was so incredible to see them getting baptized after so much time. Marili´s kids, Nayara and Taoan are members (teenagers) here. They work with us every week, visiting our pesquisadores. I'm so truly happy for them and their chance to see their mom being baptized. 

This week we had a activity for the YM/YW. Scavenger Hunt with selfies. It was awesome! Even Marili stayed and played along. Running with the teenagers with flipflops! haha They had to do some tasks like sweep a strangers house and fit the most people in a car. Ask for a cup of water from a stranger and invite a stranger to church. Well, one group, (the group that had two of our pesquisadores) decided to go above and beyond. They asked for a cup of water in the same house that they swept. Afterwards they asked to use the peoples car, invited the couple to enter the car with them and take the photo!! Then, they invited them to church! The only problem was that it was raining cats and dogs and turns out they tracked sand in the house and car of the couple! 

Looks like the next week they'll need to return to the house and do a service project! At least the couple was nice about it!

The coolest part was that our pesquisadores, Thales(18) and Dinnifer(12) invited people to visit the church! Milagres são reais!

Dinnfer gave me a necklace for my birthday! And then gave a hair thing to Sister Aranha, it was super cute, "Aqui, eu nem uso! :)" "Here, I dont use this" is what she said! haha

I also ate so much cake this week that I never want to see cake again! haha But I'm super happy. This week we had many happy experiences and we're super excited to enter the new with even more opportunities! 

Love you all! 

Sister Hemmert

100 Reais

This week we had a major rule change and we´re all still trying to figure out what it is they changed! haha. 

Some missions can sleep in more and enter their house earlier and sleep earlier, and then you have us. Porto Alegre, Sul. 6:30 wake up call, 10:30 sprinting for bedtime because we still dont have enough hours in the day, confused because they didnt really explain any of the new rules that apply to us. Oh well! 

They held a conference in the USA and broadcasted for the world. It was wonderful. They 

This week was one of those weeks. Difficult and perfect and miraclous and sleepless and well worked. 

I will start with a short story about two Sister Missionaries who were walking, contemplating their poverty and all the activities and Ward Family Home Evenings which they would need to plan and provide cake and pop and stuff when one Sister, who we will call Sister H. (to respect the privacy of the real life individual) noticed something blue, light blue. Maybe a little tiny bit green just a few steps in front of her. And as it turns out, as she approached she stepped right on top of....R$100. 

Yes it is true, I can't keep their identities in secret much longer. It was Sister Aranha and me. Walking down an empty street when we stumbled upon (literally stumbled upon) 100 reais. We stared down at my foot right on top of that bill and couldn't believe our eyes. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I don´t think I deserve so many blessings assim, but I sincerely hope and pray that whoever lost this money is being blessed much more than we were blessed. Trust in the Lord and know that He is taking care of that person who helped a whole ward have an activity!

I wish I had time to explain every single blessing that we received and tell you how we found a whole street of families to teach or how we held a series of family home evenings to strengthen our members or how we ate so many yummy cakes this week! haha But I just don't have time! I love you all. Wish you all well!

Pray for Rosangela! We weren't snooping or anything because she had it set on top of the microwave, but we saw that she had a medication to help her stop smoking! Woohoo! Love her so much. Also pray for Emerson her son! He is a recent convert praying to serve a mission! I promised him that he could send his papers out this month if he really focused. The real problem is his old work, they didn't pay him so he is working with the justice force (haha) to go out!

Tchau! Beijo!

Sister Hemmert