4/16/13
Oh Madeira. I love you. This week has
been awesome- full of adventures and I am exhausted. But a good
exhausted. :) Yesterday for our P-day we had Zone Conference so we couldn´t
e-mail. The zone conference was incredible. I was asked to bear my
testimony on what I learned from conference and how we can apply it- I talked
about obedience and also how the Lord knows each one of us- He knows our
investigators and all we have to do is trust in Him and we can know how to help
them. Me and sister Olson gave a little treinamento also about finding
people and working with menos ativos to strengthen them and receive references-
and help them get more involved with the work. I know that Christ is
working right alongside us- this is His work and He loves us. I am on a
division right now in Funchal with a Sister Nigri. She is from Brazil and
she is so fun and cute! I am pretty sure I am learning more from her than
she is learning from me. She has so much energy and love. My first
sunday with the branch went pretty well. For being so small they are
pretty self-sufficient. We teach principios do evangelho but they do the
rest- play the piano, direct, etc. They are so awesome! I love that
about small branches- that everyone can have a calling and a purpose and a
means to help and serve. We are really working on strengthening the
members because we know that through them this area can and will explode with
growth. But it takes everyone. Awesome and interesting things that
happened this week: we met the padrão de excellencia for new
investigators and lessons taught to investigators!!! woohooo!!!! The
other week we talked to three people on the side of the road- a woman and her
husband and her mother. They told us we could come back and their house
will be full of people. So we did and it was!! It was so awesome!!!
We taught a room full of people a simplified lesson of the Restoration
and the spirit was so strong! They have a lot of faith in Christ and I
think a couple of them will really progress. Only problem is they live
kind of far away so it is difficult to meet with them often. But I am so
excited to see the gospel bless and change their lives. There is this
awesome family we are trying to teach. We aren´t sure how interested they
are in the gospel and/or changing, but they are such a strong family and we can
see them as being the future leaders of the branch. But we knew that they
needed more than just sitting and teaching, so we decided to serve them and
they excepted- they took us to their campo (bigger than a garden, but smaller
than a farm) and we worked- pulled weeds, watering, etc. It was a lot of
fun and I think it made a big difference- I think they are more apt to listen
and try to help their seed of faith grow. I am really excited for them.
We taught a woman that is convinced that Mary Magdalene wrote the Book of
Mormon. yep. I was praying for the spirit and patience and love the whole
time. Someone walked up to me with a pigeons body missing the head that
he had just chopped off moments before. We see lots of goats and chickens
on the side of the road. The woman that feeds us all of the bread is
named Maria and she is just so sweet and as we taught her this week she was so
sad about the death of her husband and I just felt this huge love for her and
desire for her to be sealed to her husband, so what else could I talk about but
baptism? So I did because she needs to make this first step to receive
the other blessings and at first she didn´t really accept it but then she was
more interested as we read scriptures and things and I am really happy to see
her progression. I am so grateful to be a missionary and picture everyone
in white- like President Monson keeps talking about- to see people as they can
be. In Relief Society the women talked about the pioneers and how much
faith they had to up and leave and how they think they wouldn´t have sufficient
faith to do that. And I sat there thinking " well with that
attitude!" and Then I told them that I think they would have enough faith
because the Lord qualifies those He calls and that they know the church is true
and that the Prophet is called of God and so I think they would follow him.
I really felt the spirit and I could see their countenances change. Our
thoughts and attitudes are so important!!! I know that President Monson
is truly a prophet of God and that when we follow His counsels we will be
blessed. When we are almost obedient, we almost receive blessings.
I know this e-mail is very sporadic; hopefully you can get something out
of it. I am so grateful for the experiences I am being blessed with.
The church is true. I want others to know the same so they can receive
the same blessings. Some major lessons I have learned on the mission are:
Trust in the Lord. Forget yourself and give yourself to Him. Live,
love and learn. Repent always. Obediencia and diligencia.
Demand excellence of yourself. I know Christ lives. HURRAH
FOR ISRAEL!!!
Sister Tingey
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