February 26, 2018 I miss cupcakes!

Sooo this week.... went really well actually.
We met this Irma on Sunday who hasn´t come to church in almost a year and her husband isn´t a member. So we asked if we could visit her and she was really suspicious. But it we went because we felt like we needed to. The husband wasn´t there so we spent an hour just getting to know her. Her personality is a lot like Lauren´s. She is super funny and we loved getting to know her better. We went back on Thursday and spent almost two hours talking to her husband. They´ve been married for 11 years and he always goes to church with her when she goes but he doesn´t want to be baptized. He has a lot of questions, which we were able to answer most of. He prayed for us, which Irma Josi said he has refused to do for all the other missionaries. We got up early and went to his house Sunday to make sure he was ready for church and to show him that we were serious about him getting baptized next month. We spent another hour after church talking to him and he set a baptismal date! WOOHOO! He wants to be sealed to his family. But he says he can´t be baptized and won´t tell us why. So we will have to figure that out so we can help him. But he has a testimony that I think he just doesn´t realize he has.
We met a sister of an Irmao in our branch. She is way awesome. She, her husband, and her son all said they want to get baptized. They are way fun to talk to. And they understand me so I don´t have any fear to talk with them. They are always asking such good questions that I love to think about. S Sandoval gave me a lot of time to talk and just let me lead the lesson which I thought I was going to mess up, but it ended up being way good.
We have this new couple in our branch named Steffani and Oreste. They have to kids and are literally the cutest little family. Irma Steffani is always so happy and she is sunshine. I swear the space around her glows. We went to her house during a rain storm and you couldn´t even tell it was raining she was so happy and just talking and laughing and smiling. She has the love of Christ in her heart and you can see it very clearly.
One of the Elders in my district, Elder Dos Santos, always says, Eu falo Ingles (Google translate... I speak English) when he sees me and I don´t think I´ve told that to you yet. The first district meeting we had, he asked if S Silva and I were in the same district in the CTM because we came the same week. I looked at him like he was crazy and was like, uh no, eu falo Ingles. And now he finds a way to slip that into every conversation we have. He even said it when he was speaking at an activity we had in Bento.
The time changed last week and so did the weather. It is colder and more rainy now. It is sunny at 6 am and pitch black at 7pm. I took pictures of my watch to send you guys so you can see the light and darkness.
We had an activity in Bento for members to bring their friends to and it was really awesome. We played really dumb party games and ate a lot of food. It was funny to see adults playing musical chairs. It ended really late, so we got to spend the night in Bento with the sisters there. It was really fun.
The next day, WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!! WOOHOO!!!! Mathurin was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. It was really awesome. He always talks about how happy he is to be part of the church even when he wasn´t baptized. He also doesn´t ever remember our names, so he just calls us missionarias.
Adolino bought a tie to wear to church now that he has the Priesthood but he doesn´t know how to tie it. When we asked how he expected to wear it not knowing how to tie it, he just smiled and said, I knew you guys would come this week to help me. So S Sandoval tied it for him.
We got transfers last night. S Sandoval is headed to Santa Cruz, and I am receiving a new comp. Straight out of the MTC. I think President Campos is insane. I just finished my training and he wants me to train now. AHHHHHHH pray for me please....
I love you guys!
Sister Heiner

Huge Hill!

Blackberries!

Morning!

Night!

Baptism!

Adolino and his new tie.

Pres Fernando and fam

4 Months!

February 19, 2018 HAPPY late VALENTINES DAY!!

This week was awesome! We have 20 new investigators and 8 of them came to church! A miracle!!
The week started off really well as well. We had a zone meeting about getting excited and working hard. I really needed that because when everybody says no to you for two weeks straight, it gets kind of discouraging. One of the Elders, Elder Tate, sang a song for us. In Portuguese it is called Brilha Meiga Luz, and I know it in English but I can´t remember the name.  But it was way good. And then I was talking to Elder Marques, and he was telling me about how faith changes everything and how when we work harder every day to be better, every day goes faster and better. I need him as a shoulder angel. His pep talks are the best, haha. I left that conference feeling like I could do anything. And it showed this week! I talked a ton! And people understood me! I started dreaming in Portuguese and I don´t have to translate things in my head anymore, and I understand absolutely everything people are saying! The gift of tongues is way real.
This week was Carnival and the streets were completely empty. There was nobody around. And then the next day, they were completely full. It was like everybody brought their third and fourth cousins to town. It was hard to walk in the streets.
We taught a lady that has 8 kids. I decided from that family, I too might want 8 kids.
I spent the week studying my birthday scriptures. Every book that has a chapter 9 and a verse 8. It was really entertaining. A lot of them were about going to hell and not following commandments. I was like, huh. I feel like I do a really good job at being exactly obedient, so these don´t fit. But it was a fun way to study for a few days.
I was also reading a conference talk from the October 2007 general conference (because we have that ensign in English) by Spencer J Condie. And one of the scriptures he used was from Genesis 30:20 and it says, And God remembered Rachel. And I know I´m not trying to have a child like she was, but it brings me a lot of comfort to know that God will always remember me. There is never a moment when I can´t say a prayer and ask to feel His love and His guidance.
Which brings me to my next thing! This week we started teaching the son of Adolino. His name is Eder. And he was telling us that he hasn´t prayed because he hasn´t had a spiritual moment in which he feels like he can pray. He said he wants to know that God exists but needs to have a spiritual moment to ask God. So I started talking about how we can make a spiritual moment almost anywhere we are. All we have to do is pray. And I invited him to kneel down and ask God if he was real and if He loved him when we left. And I didn´t stumble on my words or anything, so I know that Heavenly Father wanted him to have this invitation. And then I decided to do it myself. And the love I felt was overwhelming. I want to invite all of you guys to do this too. Just kneel down in a quiet place and ask our Heavenly Father if He loves and knows you. I know you´ll feel the love of our Savior and of our Father like crazy. I know He loves you guys and I know He knows you guys. There is nobody on this planet who loves and knows you better.
I became a blanket nun for the first time this week on my mission. And S Sandoval thought I was crazy, so I took a picture. I think Jamie will find it funny.
I SAW A SNAKE THIS WEEK AND S SANDOVAL ALMOST STEPPED ON IT AND NOW I NEED TO BE TRANSFERRED, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.
The time changed on Sunday, so now we are only 4 hours in front of Utah. S Sandoval didn´t set our alarm right though so she was up at 6 and decided to make a cake. And was being way loud. At 6 in the morning. And I mean, loud enough that our neighbor started banging on the walls. It was really funny, and luckily the cake tasted really good, so it was worth it.
We were doing language study this week reading the BoM, and S Sandoval told me that slay is a pretty word. When I told her what it means in Portuguese she got really upset and asked how such a pretty word could have such an awful meaning. She´s been using it all week. Not correctly, but that´s how I speak Portuguese, so who am I to judge.
The have a thing here like EFY but it is only every 4 years. They had it this last week and all of the youth went and absolutely loved it. It is super focused on missionary work and three of the young women have decided to serve missions now! BOOM!
We had this crazy Irma come visit our branch this week. She decided she was going to teach our class for the new people getting to know the church, and we let her. It was an interesting lesson. And then afterwards she asked us to go with her to talk to her cousin who has a heart problem. We just sat there while she taught the lesson to him. It was actually way awesome. Because he trusts her, so he listened to her more than he would have listened to us. I wish we had more crazy irmas like her.
We had a family home evening last night that was a disaster. We invited our ward mission leader to talk with Adolino and one of his sons that is kind of interested in the church but more curious than anything. And as soon as Irmao Dilson walked in, he starts talking about baptisms for the dead. The son was like, .......what...... and we were like Stop talking, this boy knows nothing about our church yet. So that was fun. Not really, but whatcha gonna do.
So that was my week! I hope you guys are happy and doing well! I love you!
Sister Heiner

We made a lot of not healthy food last pday!

We made cookies again today.  Looks like we really don't eat well!

A selfie because, why not?

Book of Mormon on a hill.

Becoming a blanket nun.

Cool flowers.

HUGE SPIDER that was really pretty
so probably really poisonous. 

February 12, 2018

Raise your hand if you have the best mom in the world? If you aren´t my sibling and your hand is up, put it down, you´re a liar and need to repent. I GOT A PACKAGE THIS WEEK!! Filled with things I love and need. To absolutely nobody´s surprise, I am sure, all the fruit snacks are gone already. BUT to be fair, everytime I ate a pack, I gave a pack to S Sandoval, so I really only ate half of them.
And I got letters from Grandma!! One of them was full of letters from Thanksgiving, and I loved reading everybody´s notes. One of them said, You have 18 months to do it and an eternity to think about it. I´ve thought about that a lot this week. 18 months really isn´t a long time, so I need to work my butt off and be better at finding people to teach. Along with that, Grandma sent a small note about gratitude, and I´ve been reading a conference talk from Elder Holland about the First Great Commandment of us remembering to love the Savior first. I have loved remembering that everything we do to serve the Lord is just a small demonstration of all He did for us. So those three things were a good call to repentance and be better this week.
A note for Jamie, if Redmon is still upset that I´m saying geput wrong, he can stop showing that video!
We had a week filled with food. And as I went to grab a snack the other day, I had a thought that made me feel closer to Amanda. I wasn´t even hungry, just addicted to food. But it´s good food! And I want to eat all of it!
I was telling S Sandoval a story about Luke this week, and she was like, wow, Luke sounds like an angel. And I was like, man, must have told that story wrong. ;) Just kidding, Luke. I love you.
We also saw this huge rat. Like the size of a small dog. It was so gross and I was so glad it was not in our house. I didn´t know why S Sandoval was freaking out at first because I didn´t know the word for rat in Portuguese, so she went, Mickey! A Mickey horrível! And then I understood, Mickey Mouse. But this was not a fun loving, singing, lets go to Disneyland, Mickey. This was a lets go hide, and then throw up, Mickey. Seriously, I think I actually would have rather seen a snake. (We all know that's a lie, but you get the point).
We cleaned the church windows on Thursday. Which took a lot of time because half of the building is just windows. But it was good. Got really wet because Irmão Dilson was spraying one side not realizing that the windows weren´t a 100% shut. So that was an adventure.
I had a really sad realization this week. I have to go another Christmas without Christmas Chocolates. And how the fact that that made me sad was a little ridiculous, but hey, I love those things.
I finished the Book of Mormon this morning! I´ve been going through a blank copy marking all the things that are examples of strength. At least that´s what it started as. When I finished, I flipped through to look at all the notes I made, and realized that I was also marking examples of hope, love, and faith. Because all those things give us strength. At the start of the Book, there are only maybe one marking or a note on each page, but by the end, there are markings everywhere and notes on every page. It was cool to see how my testimony has grown that way. I used a green pencil and there are some pages that are absolutely filled with green. I have never known more than I know now that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and can help us through absolutely anything. I loved studying that way so much, I´m starting again tomorrow!
I saw into Zac Shakespear´s future this week. We had a lunch with Pamela and Andreus again, and they started fangirling together over Star Wars. And then they pulled out a huge Darth Vader action figure. And then afterwards started debating the plots of the Captain America movies. It was seriously so nerdy cute.
One of the little girls in our branch has this doll that has a eye that doesn´t move anymore, and it made me think of my one eyed witch.
We had a male investigator swoop in and give me and S Sandoval a beijo, which is when you put your cheek against another persons cheek,  which we are absolutely not supposed to do with males. But he came in from the side! Didn´t see him coming. He has a wife so it wasn´t anything romantic, but still. S Sandoval freaked and wanted to call President Campos, but eventually decided just to email him today.
We only had 18 people at church this week, so this 7 year old boy sat in with his mom during relief society, and I honestly thought he wasnt´t paying attention. But we were reading the talk from President Nelson about the Book of Mormon (love that talk) and the Irma teaching asked if the Book of Mormon or rubies were more precious to us. And this kid, without even a second´s hesitation, said, The Book of Mormon. And I was like, YES! This kid is going to be an awesome missionary one day!! It made me realize how pure kids are, which is why Christ tells us to become like little children. That was the most spiritual thing I felt during church yesterday.
We were waiting for our onibus after lunch yesterday, and started singing I am a Child of God in the Rodoviária. And we got some really weird looks. And I´m not sure if it was because we kept switching languages, the fact that we sang it on loop for a solid 15 minutes, or that we probably sounded awful. But it was funny watching people´s reactions. We had a lady get up and leave. But we weren´t even being loud! Thanks lady...
Also, on the onibus, one of the songs that started playing was Attention by Charlie Puth. And I started kind of singing along and S Sandoval was like, Sister! Não pode! And then I explained that Luke always listened to it, and she started singing too.
I love you guys like crazy and hope you have a good week!!
Sister Heiner

I got some mail!

Livro de Mormon.

I love the necklace my mom slipped in the package.

Playing with shadows.

A view of the city.

We made popcorn!

February 5, 2018 Happy Love Month!!

This week was really really good. No miracles happened, nobody wants to be baptized, we got rejected A TON, and nobody came to church again. But I felt the Spirit a ton and my testimony of the gospel grew.
Personal study was on fire this week. Started off by reading in 3 Nephi which is always a joy. I love reading about the Savior and all that He has to say to the Nephites. I read in chapter 13 verses 8 and 32 about how the Savior knows each of our needs before we even ask. And I have used that a lot in our lessons and in our lunch appointments. I´ve thought about it a ton. Our Heavenly Father knows each of us perfectly and He knows exactly what we need when we need it. So we can always have trust and confidence in Him that everything will turn out exactly how it is supposed to. And maybe we don´t know the reasons, like with the letters from you guys. I want to receive those so bad! And I don´t understand why I haven´t because all the Americans here say they get theirs, but maybe the Lord is asking me to trust Him. I don´t know.
The next awesome personal study was studying the chapters dad said he has been studying. I loved reading about Alma teaching his son. In the margins when I read this chapter during the MTC, I had written, I have conversations like this with dad when I have questions. So I thought it was cool that dad had mentioned that and I had thought about him when I read it earlier.
The last one that was my favorite was studying President Nelson´s talk about the importance of realizing how important the Book of Mormon is that Grandma sent me. I took his advice and wrote how my life would be different, what I wouldn´t know, and what I wouldn´t have in my journal. I took pictures and will send those to you. I was trying to explain it to S Sandoval in Portuguese, and luckily we have a Portuguese Liahona with all the conference talks in it so I could just show her, and I was just overwhelmed by love. Love for Grandma for sending this talk to me and for the Book of Mormon she marked for me, love from the Savior that He gave us this guide, just love for the gospel in general. And I just started to cry and cry and I know S Sandoval thought I was off my rocker, but whatever. It was a good day.
I think Dad would absolutely love Adolino. The more we talked to him the more I realized that they have very similar senses of humor. And he has a huge piece of land that he spends hours and hours working on. Dad would be in heaven on his property.
Mom would be very proud of me this week. Every lunch, there was tomatos as one of the dishes and I ate some every day. And we had fish at one of the Irmã´s houses and I ate two pieces without letting anybody know that I hate fish.
I have decided I want a motorcycle. Everybody here has them and I think they are way cool. So I might be saving up for that when I get home.
We printed pictures of the baptism for Adolino and his son, and we decided to put scriptures on the back of them, and Eder, the son, isn´t a member and wants nothing to do with the church at this point. So we were trying to find scriptures that weren´t too pushy and then S Sandoval starts pointing out all of these scriptures about repentance and how if we aren´t baptized, we can´t get into heaven. It was really funny. No, we didn´t use one of those.
I wasn´t feeling very good last Sunday, so I didn´t talk a lot at church, which honestly, isn´t weird. But Adolino noticed and when we went to his house for a lesson on Tuesday, the first thing he said was, Are you feeling better? I bought you bread to make you happy. Which I thought was way cute. And then he told us later this week that he likes spending time with us because we remind him of his daughter that passed away. Which about broke my heart because I don´t know if he realizes that we won´t always be here.
We started this notebook called the Livro of Carlos Barbosa and are taking it around to all the members houses to get a bunch of random information, like where they work, what hours they are at home, how many people live there, address, so that we can use it to ask them to help us go to lessons and to get more references. I really hope it turns out to be helpful, because it is a lot of work and a lot of time.
We went to visit an Irmã who has started to go inactive. Generally when we visit her, she is happy to talk but she has a lot of problems so she isn´t happy. Her son is in drug rehab and her other son isn´t talking to her for some reason and what ever else is wrong that day. But when we went to visit on Friday, she was singing and cooking and super happy. And we were like, waaaaat is this change? And she was like, This morning, I read the Book of Mormon and today has been such a good day. And we were like, YES! SCRIPTURE POWER! So we read a chapter with her and talked about how the scriptures bring us peace and it was so awesome!
One of the Irmãos at lunch this week asked what my shoe size was. And the sizes are different here, so I was like, I have no idea. So he tried on my shoe. Which was super funny. Apparently I am a 38 or so, in case any of you cared.
We had a really awesome family home evening with Adolino, Irma Wilma, Irma Marezette, Irma Pamela and Irmao Andreus. We taped a picture of Christ in a shoe box and then wrapped it like a present. Then we had everybody think of sins they´ve committed and stab the shoe box with a knife. When we opened the box to show that we were stabbing a picture of Christ, the Spirit was so strong. Everybody went dead silent. Wilma started trying to figure out where she had stabbed, Marizette hugged the box to her, and Pamela started crying. And then we talked about the Atonement and how we always have a way back home. It was a really good lesson and it strengthened my testimony of the Atonement a ton.
I keep finding puzzle pieces on the ground and I´ve started collecting them because they make me think of Amanda.
Anyways, that was my week. The rest of the time was spent getting rejected by people but it´s all good. Part of His plan.
I´ll love you guys forever, I hope Lauren´s wedding goes well!
Sister Heiner

Sister Sandoval made fried bread with cheese

 for dinner one night and it was so good.

The view of part of the city at the top of a hill.

I couldn´t find a spot to take a picture with me
and the apartment, but here is our complex.

Taking a water break.

The sunset one night.

This lawn made me laugh.

Picture with Irma Marezette.