May 28, 2018

HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLOOO Family. This week the internet is faster so I will hopefully be able to tell you guys a lot more...
First about my area... Taquara is split in half with our Sister Leaders who live in our house. They are really cool but it is really hard living with four people because you aren´t just thinking about your comp, you have to think about the other two as well. Our area is the top half of Taquara which means we get the joy of walking very much to get to the houses we want to visit, but exercise is good, at least there aren´t very many hills. The streets are either cobble stone or dirt. The only paved streets are the main highway that we get to run across every day and the main street downtown. Which is kind of cool. Not gonna lie, it is a lot more what I thought Brazil would be like than my first area. Our apartment is in the middle of downtown, but this week we are getting a new apartment that is across the street from the church, which I am really excited for. AND it is a little bigger than our apt right now which will seriously be so nice. There are always people riding horses and driving these little horse carts in the street. The first time I saw it, I thought it was so cool and S Leite laughed at me because she said I would get used to it really fast. But I still think it is really cool. There are pine trees everywhere and the nature really reminds me of Oregon. There is even a giant hill, mountain thing that looks a lot like Spencer Butte in the distance. It is makes me kind of homesick sometimes and other times it makes me feel like I am already at home.
About our branch... It feels pretty small, but when we count the frequency, there are over 70 people there every week. I think it feels small because the building is bigger than in Barbosa. The building used to be an old gym, so it really is pretty ugly, I´ll take pictures this week so that I can send you and you can judge for yourselves. Our imras are really sweet. They were all worried that we were going to be dying of cold, so they gave us a bunch of jackets and coats. And they are always stopping by to give us food. I want to be an irma like them when I get home. Our ward mission leader reminds me a ton of uncle Brett. It threw me off big time the first time we had a meeting with him. I was like, Brett what in the world are you doing here? He is really cool and he´s new, so I think he´ll help a lot. Our members help a lot too. They are always giving us references and calling to see if we´ve gone there or if we need a ride. It is a really nice change from Barbosa..
About Sister Leite.... She is awesome. I seriously couldn´t be happier with her and I thank the Lord every day that she is my comp right now. What is really sad is that this is her third transfer here so chances are good, this will be our only transfer together. She works so hard and is always so happy and laughing which helps me be happy and laugh too. She is 21, from Recife so she is always talking about the beach and such. So when I come back here to visit, I will be taking a small trip up to Recife to see her too. She has a ´crush´who is her boyfriend but not her boyfriend. It is super funny to hear her talk about him.
About the other two that live with us... S Borchert is as sweet as ever. She does everything to help other people and seriously is an awesome Sister Leader. S Santos is a character. She doesn't think before speaking which sometimes makes things interesting.. They have splits every week so we often have other people sleeping in our house which makes our tiny house feel even smaller. Super excited for this new apartment.
This week... We had a district meeting in Gramado and our ZL, Elder Schade said something I really liked. He said that God put us here, in the hardest zone of our mission, because right now He only trusts us to work hard enough to find the people that we need to find and to work hard enough to not get discouraged. I needed that a lot this week because we found almost nobody new to teach this week. I gave my lowest report this week and our DL told me I need to repent. So that was a fun conversation.
I swear I saw Sister Humphreys this week. It was the weirdest feeling ever. Especially because like 10 minutes later, I found a bunch of playing cards on the ground that made me think of Jake, so the Humphreys family was on my mind a lot this week.
We hit 7 months this week! And to celebrate, S Leite and I bought subway sandwiches. It was the best month mark present so far, haha. S Borchert was really sad all day because she couldn't believe we only have 11 more months here. I told her just to ask to stay longer if she wanted to and then she got happier.
We were eating lunch with one of the irmas, and their daughter got married last month and one of their wedding pictures was them together in front of the temple wearing their mission name tags. I thought that was so cute, and I´m totally planning on doing that now.
We were talking with Cinara this week about what we could talk to Iago about so that he can be baptized, and she told us that she wants us to teach him how to be a Christian. Neither of us really knew what that meant because we are already trying to do that, ya know. But we found a For Strength of Youth and are going through that with him. She seemed to like that a lot so that´s good. She has a huge orange tree in her backyard and we picked a ton on Thursday and on Friday, they were already almost gone. They are so good. And I love that we can pick oranges on the side of the road with no problem!
We had a really rough day Saturday where I really was just ready to get up and go home to the apartment. S Leite could see that I was frustrated and asked if she could say a prayer with me. So we went and stood next to a really pretty bush (that is important for some reason) and said a prayer. I had a name pop into my head so we headed to that street. AAANNND she wasn't home. I just was more frustrated. But then as we were walking down the street, S Leite remembered a contact that she had made and was like, let's try this house. So we went there and this 15 year old named Paublo opened the door and he was awesome! When we taught him how to pray, he said a prayer blessing his family. It was super sweet, and he almost started to cry because of the spirit that he could feel.
So Brazil is on strike. I don't understand it all, but I´ll say what I do. The government did something or other (that´s the part I don't understand) and the gas prices shot up from 3 pela to 5. So the truckers went on strike. And because of that, everybody rushed to get gas. And the gas stations ran out of gas. Then because the truckers went on strike, there was no food being brought in. And the food started to run out. Mostly just milk and eggs and butter and fruits and veggies. Things like that. And then Saturday, a water shortage started. We´re fine, our irmas stalked us up with food and we don't eat a ton at home anyways so it isn´t too bad. We got an email from Pres. Campos saying that everything should go back to normal this week, so I´m not too worried. But everybody is talking about how the end of the world is starting because the teachers went on strike too so there isn´t school right now. But my thoughts are that if the Prophet hasn´t come out saying anything, we´ll be just fine. He will talk if we should start getting worried.
I hope that was more details than last week and that something was interesting to read. I miss you guys a lot and love you even more!
Have a great first week of summer vacation! Which is way weird because it feels like Christmas here!
Sister Heiner

Pday lunch of hot chocolate and cheesy bread.

Name tags and our area.

Graffiti.

4 of us on a cool bridge.

S Leite and I near a river.

Name tags and said river.

Cinara made us popcorn! 

May 21, 2018

So this internet is really slow so I´m sorry if there is a lot of bad spelling and isn't too long. Starting at the start of this week...
Edwardo and Josi took me to the Rodoviaria which I thought would be a good idea because I wanted to say goodbye to them last but it turned out be a bad idea because it made it really hard to get on the bus to leave. I couldn't hug Edwardo goodbye which was awful. And when I got on the bus, they handed me a bag that was full of food and a new scarf, so yeah. I spent the whole bus ride to Porto Alegre bawling my eyes out. So the lady sitting next to me probably thinks I´m insane but, ya know, whatever.
In Porto Alegre, I saw S Sandoval which was cool but also really weird. It was cool to see her and talk to her about everything that has been going on in Barbosa but it as also really weird. I don't really know how to explain it.
So we live with our sister leaders which is kind of fun because S Borchert from the mtc is one of them! But its also a little rough because living with four people is hard, haha. During study time it is really loud and a little hard to concentrate. But I know it will all work out well.
My comp is awesome. We are scarily similar so it is really really easy to work with her and teach with her and talk to her. She told me that in her last interview with Pres Campos, he told her that she was going to have an easy time with her next comp because we are so similar. It made me laugh at how right he was. The Lord really does put us with the people that we need to be with.
We are teaching this 12 year old who loves English. He always wants me to talk in English with him. So this week, I taught a full lesson to him in English and then he translated it for hi mom. It was really really awesome. He said this prayer at the end he thanked Heavenly father for sending me to them and asked Him to help me adjust to being here. The sweet kid.
We started doing language study every night. It has been so helpful. S Leite is going through the book of mormon and picking the words that she thinks are the hardest and I am learning how to pronounce them. I´m helping her learn how to say the first vision in English. It has been really really fun.
So S Wiese is in my district!!! How cool is that? It is really fun to see her and talk to her and all that. I didn't realize how much I missed her, haha. We had our first zone meeting and there are 5 of us from Utah in our 18 person zone, haha. I thought that was funny. They also gave us the flu shot while we were there which was kind of painful. You all know how much I love shots.. And then the next day, s Leite was sick... So it didn´t work! I swear I know our zone leader somehow but I don't think I actually do. Just has one of those faces, I guess.
It has been dumping rain (so I think its time to buy rain boots..) and the high for the week was 6 degrees. So lots of layers. There was snow in Gramado which is something I never thought I would see in Brazil.
We were walking around in the rain when this car pulled up and this man started talking to us. My first thought was run but it turns out that s Leite knows him so it was good. he asked us to come to his house for hot chocolate, it was very nice of him. He asked us a ton of questions about missions and what we do and such. It was a really cool conversation. He and his wife gave us a ride home in the rain so i hope the Lord blesses them for that act of kindness. Side note, s Leite is from the top of Brazil so she had never had hot chocolate before which i think should be a crime.
We were eating lunch at an irmas house and her daughter blurted out that she is failing English in school. It was a really awkward and tense moment. But I think she planned it so her mom didn't murder her right on the spot.
Alright, this computer is really frustrating so I promise to right more next week. I love you guys like crazy!
Sister Heiner

S Leite

A small tour of our apartment.

A huge beehive.

Sunset.

May 14, 2018 Happy Mother's Day!

This week has been really hard but good. We got a lot of work done but spent the whole week saying goodbye to people because everybody knew I would be getting transferred.
Starting with pday. It was Irma Wilmas birthday so we went to her house and spent the afternoon with her. I thought that it would just be a chill, lets eat one piece of cake and talk kind of thing because she doesn't like having a ton of people at her house. And there really weren´t a ton of people, just another Irma and two of her friends that live near her. Those two friends don't like when we´re there for some reason so they left pretty quick which, not gonna lie, was fine with me. Irma Wilma was so excited that we were coming that she made a feast. And expected us to eat it all. Oh boy, it was a lot of food.
And afterwards, we had a family home evening with Edwardo. Which was really good. We watched the restoration video (the old one because we couldn't find the new one) with him and his family. At the end we asked him what he thought was the main message of the video and he told us that one simple prayer with real intention can change everything. We all just sat there and looked at him. And he smiled and said, but not my prayers. OH THIS STUBBORN MAN IS SO FRUSTRATING. They made us huge xis at the end. Let me tell ya something, we ate so much on Monday that I am sure I could have gone all week without eating and still not have been hungry. It was a ton of food.
We went on splits in Bento with our Sister Leaders. I thought it was going to be way weird because they don't really talk to us a whole lot but it was really fun. S Juarez is trying to learn English so she was talking to me in English. She asked me to speak really really slow so she could understand. And it was funny because I don't speak normal anymore. I put all the words in the order of Portuguese and its really weird.
We decided to burn some calories and walk to and from Garibaldi this week for lunch. I think its like 4 km one way, don´t know what that is in miles, I just know that my feet were killing me the next day. We had to cross a highway so we crossed it running and screaming even though there were no cars in sight. It was just fun to do.
On Wednesday, we went to the church and made cookies with Irma Marezete, Tiago, and Irma Josi´s family. It was really fun. And a little frustrating because they asked me to teach them how and then spent the whole time telling me I was doing it wrong, haha. We were waiting for the last batch of cookies to bake, so I started playing the piano (just right handed) and decided to play the hymn that Edwardo loves just to see if he could hear it in the other room and within 5 seconds he was behind me watching. He was just smiling and asked why I choose that hymn. I was like, ai no reason. He laughed and then walked away.
We were teaching Leo a lesson on Friday and he asked when transfers were. We said I would most likely be leaving on Monday and he was like QUE?! ESTA SEGUNDA??! Yep, sorry bud.
We found this really sweet girl this week. She´s 15 and when we said the opening prayer, she just started crying and crying. We were like, what happened?! What did we say? And she was like, I just really need Jesus right now. She told us that she had gotten out of drug rehab the day before. She´s been hooked on crack since she was 10. Where does a 10 year old find crack? And how do her parents not know? Questions I have now. But she told us that there is nothing more that she wants than to get baptized. We talked to her mom and her mom said that if that´s what will help her feel better, she can. Which was awesome! Litisia needs a lot of prayers and help, but I know that one day she will get baptized. Probably not for a little while because she´s still dealing with major after affects of being in rehab and all that, but she really is a special kid.
We went to Irma Josi´s and one of her friends was there. Aneta´s husband is a member that isn´t active. She had a ton of questions for us. it was really really cool. She wanted to know all about missions and how they work and why we have to be together all of the time and if we´re allowed to get married afterwards and all this stuff. It was a really fun conversation. She said that she wants to try and get her husband to take her to church because she wants to see how it is. But she´s also way pregnant so wouldn´t be surprised if that baby showed up any day now.
I gave a talk yesterday on the roles of the spirit. I was really nervous because you all know how much I love to be in front of people and it only helps that it is in Portuguese. But I was talking and looked at one of our investigators that was there and decided to go off about how the Holy Ghost helps us repent. He just started crying. It was a really cool moment of following a prompting the second I got it and seeing the results really quickly.
Adolino gave us roses because he said we´re future mothers. Way cute.
So saying goodbye to everybody was really really hard. It started with Francisco. He asked us to come give him one last lesson together. Afterwards he sent me this really long text about how grateful he is that I was here and that I was able to help him feel like he was able to come back to church. It was really sweet. Then during church Pamela found out that I was leaving and just started crying and crying and said that I wasn´t allowed to go and how could I just get up and leave. I just hugged her and told her that she was going to be okay. It was weird because I haven´t even talked to this Irma in like a month. President and Irma Jaque gave me a goodbye present. It was cute of them. Irma Josi and Edwardo too. They gave me a cuia and Irma Josi gave me a cute little elephant. I love elephants.
Adolino was really hard to say goodbye too. As we walked out of his house, he said, ai minha filha... and I just started crying, haha.
We got transfers while we were sitting in Leo´s living room. He just stopped talking. He didn´t say anything afterwards.
So I´m heading to Gramado. My area is called Taquara. My companion is Sister Leite, she was S Pompeu´s comp in the CTM which is really funny.
I loved getting to see you guys last night. I am so thankful for the internet and how easy it is to make a call. I miss you guys like crazy.  I hope you guys are doing well.
I love you!
Sister Heiner

Us on a really big hill.

Us with the Carlos Barbosa and Garibaldi sign.

Gabi in a giant pot.

Gabi trying to shut Lazero in the giant pot.

My weird hair colors.

Name tag picture.

Mothers day cards we gave out to all our irmas.

It turned winter a couple days ago.
Mirror selfie with our winter clothes.

S Pompeu counting all her money.

Our selfie with Carlos Barbosa.

Rose that Adolino gave us.

6 months worth of bus tickets.

May 7, 2018

This week was a week full of things.
Starting with Monday! We were emailing when S Pompeu just started crying her eyes out and I was like, AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH QUE FOI???!! Turns out her uncle passed away and her grandma broke both her legs. So we made a fun little phone call to President Campos and luckily he was on his way to Caxias for our zone conference so he stopped by the house to calm her down. He let her call her mom (jealous but I don´t want anybody dying so I can wait until next week pleaseandthankyou) and gave her a blessing. That seemed to help her a lot. We ended up going to Farroupilha and spending the night there because Tuesday was National Workers day so the buses weren´t running. It was really fun because there were eight of us sleeping on 4 single mattresses. Sleeping is used very lightly because there was no sleeping.
Tuesday we had a zone conference with President Campos. It was really good and I feel like we learned a lot. We also got MAIL which, not going to lie, is definitely the highlight of these conferences. Don´t get me wrong, love the Spirit, love the practice and insights, love President Campos, but I love the mail the best. We got home and there was a ton of fog, couldn´t even see 5 feet in front of us. It was crazy and kind of scary.
I was so tired Wednesday it wasn´t even funny. I didn´t fall asleep during our lessons, thankfully, but almost. S Pompeu was way tired too, not that she said anything, but that was the problem. She didn´t talk and was angry every time she did talk. I think the mail she got made her more homesick so she was just not in a good mood. So that was a fun adventure of the day. We were talking with Adolino and he pulled out a bunch of old pictures. They were so cute! He was a cutie when he was younger. I love the picture of his daughter. He gets so happy when he talks about her, it is really the sweetest thing ever. While S Pompeu was taking a shower, I totally passed out on the couch, which I never do because our couch is not comfortable.
Thursday, we got a phone call from Irma Josi saying that she told Edwardo he either needed to get baptized or she was going to leave him. I was like, JOSI YOU CANT SAY THINGS LIKE THAT. And then she said that she told him he has until this Friday to decide. And I thought she was joking. But no, she´s serious. And the fact that when she called she talked really calm and wasn´t yelling means she really is serious. I am a little nervous to see what happens because I love this family and I think just to test her, Edwardo won´t get baptized this week. So if everybody wants to say a quick little prayer that he isn´t stubborn for a day in his life and decides that this could actually be a good thing, I would really appreciate it. We found a wooden box on the side of the road that we took home, cleaned, and put all our Books of Mormon in, it is really cute! We also had one of the young adults in our branch ask if she could come with us for an afternoon so she came with us. All our plans worked out which was a miracle so she knows what is like to actually teach. But at the same time, I think it would have been good if one of the things would have fallen through so she could see that not everything works out every day.
Friday, we made a change of plans really quick and decided we needed to visit Irma Wilma. Which turned out to be really good because she had had a week. And not a good one. She needed somebody to talk to and help her see that God hasn´t left her and that she´s strong enough to do all that He asks of her. We went to talk to Leo afterwards and when he saw us, he did this little happy dance which made me laugh really really hard. It was so random.
Saturday was awesome. We had helping hands, so we got to use normal clothes. We helped paint things at a school and now my hands will forever be a little green. Everybody was talking about how weird it was to see the Sisters in normal clothes. Not even to us, we would walk by and hear people say things about it. And everybody commented on how in jeans, my legs look even longer which was funny. We had lunch at the church afterwards. We went door knocking because we didn´t have any set plans and we found this kid named Alan. He is 15 and knows more about the Bible than I do. One of the first things he said to us was that if we were going to use the Bible as a list of rules, he wasn´t interested because the Bible is here to help us not limit us. I was shocked. We need to talk to his parents so we can set a baptismal date but this kid is perfect.
We went and woke up Leo and Elaine Sunday morning again because they asked us to. While we were waiting for them to get ready so they could walk with us to church, two birds flew into their house. Adventures. We helped Adolino with Family History after church. His daughter and his wife are ready to be baptized now and I want to be the one to baptize them soooooo bad but I know I won't be able to. One of the young women asked me to help her with her English Homework which was pretty fun.
So yeah, that was more or less my week. I hope something was a little interesting to read about.
I love you guys like crazy and cannot wait to talk to you next week!
Sister Heiner

This made me think of Chris.

Adolino when he was younger and now.

Adolino´s daughter.

Sunset.

Totally going to be my house when I´m older.

The story of this box...
In the street, in S Pompeus hand, in our house.

XISSSSSSSSS.

Irma Wilma.

Helping Hands.

I think Dad could make this box.

Gabriel.

Francisco.

I GOT MAIL!