Lauro de Freitas: Vol 3 Chap 1

Ok!  This week has flown by - and just so you know, I was able to read your emails last week!  I passed by the mission office and explained what happened and was told that I could check and read my emails if I had been sent any.  So dont worry, Mom, you didnt miss a week!  thanks so much.

Lets see... what has gone on this week... São João has still been in full swing this past week because the actual festival wasnt until yesterday.  There have been a lot of bonfires in the street and a lot of banners, dancing, and really, REALLY loud music and firecrackers, which has made working a little hard, but alls well that ends well, right?  And compared to last year, the partying in the street was nothing.  It turns out that most people leave Salvador for the festival because its a kind of harvest festival, so they like to go to places like Itabuna where it is a lot closer to the farm land.

This week we had a pretty fabulous lesson - one of our recent converts here is a chef, and we were able to partake of his culinary skills this past week.  We taught the Word of Wisdom, and to finish he made a dinner for us and for some of our other recent converts and investigators, and it was sooo good!  Its amazing to see what a bit of skill can do, because the food he made was what we eat normally - salad, stroganoff, potatoes and mousse - but it was soooo much better than normal.  And the presentation was pretty spectacular, too.  He knows how to make a tomatoe look like a rose - pretty neat, eh?

And speaking of the Work of Wisdom, it was really neat because we were talking to Marcos the other day, and he let us know about something that happened to him.  He went to breakfast, and all his family had to drink was coffee.  So he got some, and he was about to drink when he remembered what we has taught him.  So he stopped, thought about it for a minute, and said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father if he could drink coffee, and he got his answer, "Son, you already know - what did the Sisters teach you?"  And so he put the coffe away and he drank water.  He was so proud of himself, and we were too =)

This week another one of our recent converts had family visit, he he brought a lot of them to church.  It was amazing to see.  His kids were there, we are teaching his sister and she was there and her kid, some of his cousins that are already memebers... they took up almost two rows in the chaple.  That really is what the church is all about, bringing families together and helping to keep them together.  Its Heavenly Father's Plan for all of us to be united.  And in church one of the speakers talked about family history work, and it was so easy to see how that fits in perfectly to everything else; it really does play such a huge role in missionary work.  Redeeming the dead, sanctifying the saints and preaching the gospel really are all the same thing - living the Plan of Salvation.  I feel very blessed to have the understanding I do about this wonderful plan and very blessed that my family is protected by this plan.

I guess the other thing that has to be talked about is transfers.  Yep, they have come around the corner once again.  This transfer will be 7 weeks long and I will be spending it in...... Lauro de Freitas!!!!  And I will be spending it with..... Sister Clark!!!  Sim, our beloved Sister Nascimento will be departing for the land of Itabuna, where she will give a lot of cards to the people that Sister Petersen worked with there.  That seems like such a long time ago.  Time really does go by so fast, doesnt it?

And that would appear to be it, because I cant think of anything else to write!

I love you all!!

Sister Petersen

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 2 Chap 4

Hey hey!  Looks like I got up before you today =)

This past week we had our final Zone Conference with President Vecchi - it was more a preparation for when President Andrezzo will come, which will be at the end of this month.  Its a little weird to think about that... I will definately miss him, but I know that President Andrezzo will be wonderful as well.  At the end of the conference President and Sister Vecchi let us ask questions - whatever sort of question that we wanted, anything that we wanted to know about them that we have always wanted to ask and never had the courage to ask... it was interesting what some people decided to ask about.  They really are so amazing and I feel so blessed that I got to know them and that they were my leaders.  When Elder Clayton of the 70 came to visit he told us that a lot of the time when the apostles are praying about where missionaries should go, they usually ask the question "What mission president can best help this missionary?" and I know that that is part of the reason that I am serving here.  I have learned so much from the Vecchis, and I am so greatful for their service and love.  We also sang for them "A Child's Prayer" which is one of Presidnt Vecchi's favorite hymns.  The day of the conference was a bit of a mess for us - we had to run afterwards to a doctor appointment for Sister Nascimento and riding on the bus and in taxis all day isnt really fun, but we made the most of it!

I think I have already talked a little bit about Marcos, but he continues to amaze me.  We went to teach him the other day about service, and when we got there he started talking to us, and he said "I want to help our church.  I want to help with the chapel, I want to help with the kids, with the youth, with the adults, I want to share my testimony, I want to help and go on visits with you, I want to visit the members and I want to do everything I can.  And you know the boys who give the bread and the water to people?  I want to do that, too."  It was amazing.  He just kept going on and on about how he wanted to help.  And we thought we were going to teach him something that day - he always teaches us when we go there.  Its his birthday today and he invited the whole ward to come to his party.  He is really excited.

The ward had their Festa Juninha this weekend, too.  I dont know if you remember last year when I wrote about São João, but it has reached that time of year again.  Next week I will try to send pictures to you.  It was a lot calmer this year.  A lot of people go on vacation and leave the capital for this holiday.  The festa was a lot of fun, and I love the food that they have.  Tapioca cake is probably one of my favorite things... its soooo yummy.  And munguzá... é tão bom!  And the dancing - I have to come back here when I can dance.  They had a live band at the church, and I really like the music.  We also got to talk to the mother of one of the members of the band - she came to drop her son off and stayed waiting for him and started reading all the things on the board and asked to talk to us.  We talked to her a little bit, she said she had never been in our church before and then she asks "Who is the living prophet?"  I love direct questions.  And who knew that something as simple as the message board in the church helps to share the gospel?

I am having a hard time not writing in português... alright!  I hope you have a great week!

Amo vocês!  Até logo -

Sister Petersen

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 2 Chap 3

This week was great.  There have been some amazing things that have happened.
First of all, I forgot to mention about Marcos (and I cant believe I forgot!).  I think I talked about him a few weeks ago.  Anyways, he was sooo excited about his baptism that he wrote out 53 invites for the members of the ward.  This is amazing to me because he doesnt know how to write - he asked one of his sisters to write the invite and he spent who knows how much time copying letter for letter everything that she had written down.  And he was baptized Saturday!
We also did a division this week and I stayed in my area with Sister Cornwall - can I say how much that woman helps me?  I think not.  She helps me SOOOOO much to understand things that I can do better and what I am doing well and things I can do to be happier.  And all she does is talk to me.  And be my friend.  And its amazing.  I love her to death.  In result of this division, Sister Nascimento and I have decided to move our area that we are working in.  We will now be working in Villas do Atlântico, and we appreciate all the prayers that we can get.  Its a really rich area and we are trying to figure out the best way and time to try to talk to people there.  I know the Lord has prepared a lot of people - its been a really long time since anyoen has worked there.
We have also been talking a lot with a "family" here in the ward - at the moment, it is comprised of two sisters (Erica and Elida) and their cousins who are also siblings (Henrique and Carla).  Erica was baptized about a year ago and is preparing to go on a mission; Henrique was baptized right after I got here.  I love them all so much.  They took us out to get pizza the other day =)  We have also been talking o Carla a bit lately - Henrique gave her a Book of Mormon and she has been reading it.  She hasnt been able to come to church because she has been working, and she isnt working at all this month and is SUPER excited to come to church.  We went to see them last night, and its the first time that we have actually had a lesson with Carla, and it was soooo good.  She has already been able to see how reading the Book of Mormon has changed some things, and she has seen how much Henrique has changed for the better, and she is ready to make changes.
The other miracle of the week is that the temple in Manaus was dedicated!!  They broadcast the dedication and we were able to watch it - it was so amazing to be there, to feel the Spirit of the temple... I miss the temple.  And I know how much the Saints here work and sacrifice to be able to go to the temple.  I am so excited for them.
I know this work is true, and I love seeing the miracles that the Lord works in our lives.

Até o proximo -

Sister P.

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 2 Chap 2

Woohoo for the end of school!

I am feeling better.  This week has been a little bit of a relaps, which I am not too happy about.  I am having a bit of a hard time remembering everything that happened this week, but I know that the week went well.  I think I will have to start making lists again of the things that happen during the week.  It helps me remember what I did, too.
I got Nathan's letter today - I read it just before writing to you guys =) He sounds pretty good.

I love hearing from you guys.  I love hearing what it is that you are up to, who has been doing what and how thing are going.  Its a little weird sometimes to remember that everyone elses life is continuing, too!  It really is amazing to hear what everyone is doing, where they are... amazing how we grow =)  I am learning to be more and more greatful everyday for the chance that I have to grow and to learn.  Our knowledge is the only thing we take with us, so it had better be worth the trip, right?

I am sorry, I am really struggling today... I cant think of anything at all that happened this week.  =(
Thanks for your email!  Thanks for your prayers!

Love you -

Erin