My mission to Brazil: March 12, 2018

Alright. So this week happened. It wasn´t the best week of my mission but it wasn´t the worst week I've had either. I´ll start with lasagna with Edwardo.
We went early to help Irma Josi make the lasagna and she was super happy. Like dancing around the kitchen, decided to make a cake happy. And this family is not rich. They´re pretty poor so cake is a big deal. We didn´t say a word to Edwardo about baptism or anything during lunch. Which turned out to be a good thing. Because when we asked him what his thoughts were, he straight up told us that he doesn´t want to be baptized. Irma Josi was so upset she got up and left the room. He told us that he can´t get baptized because his wife is crazy. Which she really isn´t, she just wants and eternal family which I totally get. We tried to explain that and explain that the gospel will help bring them closer together and bring more unity but he was not having it. Josi came back into the room and started going off about how she made this big meal because he asked her to and that we were all expecting a different answer. And you could just see him shut down. So we very quickly told them we love them and that we´ll talk another day, got up and left. We went back on a day that we knew Irma Josi was working. Because I love her, but when she´s there, Edwardo won´t open up and talk. So we thought it would be better to try and talk to him alone. Which it turned out to be. He told us that he has a testimony of the gospel and that he knows it´s true. But that until some things change, he doesn´t want to be a member. That´s all he said. And then he told us that we could go talk to Irmão Dilson because he knows more and Edwardo didn´t want to be the one to tell us. Which made us like, uuuuuhhhhh que foi? But when we went and talked to Irmao Dilson, he told us that Edwardo doesn´t like that members in our ramo say one thing and do another and that he won´t be baptized until this goes away. We were like, we can´t change the whole ramo!!! We have explained to him multiple times that the gospel is perfect but people aren´t. I pray every day multiple times that his heart will be opened and he can see that. We decided to make one more visit this week, and totally not talk about baptism or ask him to pray for us and see what happens. So we went in, talked for maybe three minutes, had a 5 minutes lesson on Ether 12:27, I said the closing prayer without even asking him if he could pray, we got up and left. As we got up, you could just see the confusion on his face. Then he asked if we would be coming back this week. We just smiled and said we´d see if we had time. Which made him even more confused because we´ve been there practically every day the last two weeks. But we can´t force his heart open so I think we´re just going to take some time to let him think and try again in a week or so.
Irma Josi also went off on me about how I need to start using sunscreen. I thought mom might appreciate that.
In other news, we had lasagna 4 times this week. I had only had lasagna one time before this week. I think Irma Josi told everybody how excited we were for it. This ramo has like a competition to see who the sisters like the most. They have a group on whatsapp and are constantly telling everybody when we are at their house. During testimony meeting, there are always a handful about how we have influenced them. It´s kinda weird but ya know. Love being loved.
I got proposed to again this week. Twice. And one of them gave me a ring. His name is Marcos, he´s a street hippy. Totally would fit in at Saturday market. I bought a bracelet from him and he made me a ring and told me to take him to America with me. I laughed, took a picture with him and we booked it out of there. He waves and says hello every day now which is nice of him I guess. Irmao Dilson also asked me if I would marry his nephew. He told me that I just need to help convert him, get him on a mission, and that he´s a good boy so when he gets home, we can see what happens. He told me dad would approve. I told him I´m happy to help convert him but that I think the marriage deal is off.
We tried all the rich houses this week. And totally got rejected. But I will not be having any rich Brazilians coming up to me in heaven and saying, What the heck, you walked past my house every day and didn´t even TRY to teach me the gospel. Well, I tried and they said no. Every body here thinks I´m rich. They all call me the rica Americana. It´s really funny because we all know I am not rich.
We had a day here called Harley Day where everybody brought their motorcycle to central and got way drunk and listened to loud rock n roll music. We took pictures. I´ll send those.
Mom asked me what I do differently than S Sandoval last week and I didn´t respond because I needed time to think. But this week I made a list. We are always on time if not early. We never miss our onibuses. We call the people we have lunch with a day ahead instead of 10 minutes ahead. We have all of our studies every day. We visit our recent converts and our less active members. Our first visits are never more than 20 minutes if they don´t have questions. We make street contacts (my first street contact was last week. I´ve been here 4 months). I think that´s really all that we do differently. You also asked how I feel differently, and I literally have no fear of talking to people now. I can walk up to anybody because I know my comp won´t get mad if they don´t understand me because she thinks it´s funny.
I realized during church yesterday that it is so easy to love people here. We had one of our less active members, Francisco come back to church for the first time in a year, and the happy dance I did was just a small display of my love for this tiny povo. But looking around during sacrament meeting and just feeling so at peace and happy with our members was a new feeling. The Lord is always willing to show us His love for His children if we just start to try and love them first.
Dad told me he has been studying light which I thought was interesting. This week during my personal study, I was reading in Matthew, and in 6:22, he says that when our eye is single to the light, our whole body will be filled with light. I think that is so true! When we are trying to find the light and trying to only be in the light of Christ, we will be filled. We will feel it change our hearts and our souls. I have focused on that a lot this week.
Another scripture that really stood out to me this week was in Jacob 7:5, and he says, For I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in every word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken. I haven´t had literal angels minister unto me, but I have had earthly angels help me more than I can count. I haven´t heard the voice of the Lord per say but I have felt His presence and seen His hand every day. But I can´t be shaken either. I know that He is there and that He loves me. There is nothing on this earth that can take that knowledge away from me. I hope to share that with the world.
I love you guys!
Sister Heiner