Great week!

I have learned so much this week, like whoa! Wasn´t conference absolutely incredible? The first session I cried through most of, because I was just so so happy! SO HAPPY! I love this gospel so much. The rest of the sessions I was able to compose myself. But honestly, I know this gospel is true with my whole being. I know  it! I am so happy I am serving a mission. While watching I had the thought, everyone needs to know there is a prophet speaking right now. Everyone needs to know that they are children of our loving Heavenly Father. Everyone needs to know that we have a Savior, and that He wants nothing more for us than to use His infinite Atonement. Then I thought, oh wait I am a missionary. I am having the oppurtunity to share this with the people of Brazil right now. Right now! Ahhh! I think conference kind of woke me up. It made me feel so excited and so refreshed to just tell everyone about this. To be honest and frank, this week was hard. It seemed we found hardly any new people to teach, and it seemed that almost all of our investigators fell. These things happen. Also, it seems that every tragic moment that has happened in my mission has happened in the rain. Which is kind of dramatic and awesome. But finding people to teach starts with me! Missionary work starts with me. I have the scriptures. I have the Savior on my side. I have all the right tools, I just need to use it more effectively. After Elder Ballard´s talk, and he was so direct and said we need to talk to more people if we want more people to teach. That hit me so hard! Ah. I want to be a better missionary, and I want to help people come unto Christ. All of the happiest moments in my mission thus far, have come from feeling the Savior´s love for me. They have come when others feel this as well and I can see them coming unto this joy I feel. So how important is this work? So important. I don´t think it has  ever been more apparent. Yesterday, we talked to two of our investigators about baptism because they were still a little unsure about the decision. I testified to them of the importance of baptism, and how much the Savior loves them and wants them to follow Him. In this moment, I could feel the Spirit working through me. I literally felt like I was just a vessel and I could feel the Spirit teaching and not me. I could see it in the investigator´s eyes and I could feel it. It was incredible. It was the neatest feeling. I feel like this week I have truly learned how to become a better missionary, and how to work harder than before. How great is all of this? How blessed are we? We are all so blessed.

Love love love,

Sister Carvalho

First week in Cumbica!

 This week was way good. Honestly, I don´t know how to start off these emails. Like should I say, hi ,hello, how are you? Greetings from Brazil? Every week is grand so I dunno. Cumbica is great! I love Sister Aledo. She is a gem! So on the Sunday of stake conference you had met David, an investigator who wasn´t feeling prepared yet. Well on Wednesday we marked an interview with him, and right before the interview he made it seem like he was wanting to get baptized. I only taught him once but he is so prepared you can just tell!! You can just feel it. After the interview we walked in and he decided to be baptized! YESSSSS! Ah it was so good. It is an electric feeling. This week I have really reflected on how much power the scriptures really have. They are literally the words Heavenly Father would want us to know/hear/live and they have the power of true conversion. I read about that in PMG this week and it just really stuck out to me. If anyone wants to be truly converted, then they need to read the scriptures. That will truly bring about a solid testimony and true conversion. I love love love the scriptures, I want to use them and know more so I can share powerful scriptures for every situation that I ever encounter. So I am kind in love with açai. And this week it totally paid off. On P-day I wanted açai so Sister Aledo and I grabbed some and as we were eating it, the lady that worked there started asking questions about The Plan of Salvation. She was kind of preoccupied so we tried explaining a little and handed her a pamphlet and told her we wanted to visit her. Later that week, we went over and visited and she hadn´t read it yet, but told us she was way too much of a sinner because she likes smoking and drinking, and that she wasn´t going to church because she gets bored at church. We went over on Thursday and she read the pamphlet. She loved it! She said she understood everything perfectly, and she really liked it. We bore our testimonies to her and we got one step further when she said she would come to church sometime because she was really interested. She seems a little tough, but I feel way good about her. Like it will take a little more work, but she has heaps of potential. I am excited to continue teaching her! Oh also, she owns an açai place and she said we could get free açai whenever. SCORE. Except don´t worry I am not going to freeload, I am going to pay obviously. On Saturday we had David´s baptism and it was so so good! I love baptisms. I can´t say it enough. To see how happy he was, and how happy we were for him? It just doesn´t get better. My birthday was awesome. My camera broke so all the pictures are on Sister Aledo´s camera. We are going to have a picture overload pretty soon here. Serious though, thank you for all the birthday wishes. It made me so so so happy. It feels good to be loved, and have such great people that love you. You guys are the best. Thank you so much for the prayers, letters, emails, and love!!

Loveeeeeeee,

Sister TiffCarv

Elder Pila & Elder Barbosa! 

Birthday Cake! 

I had always wondered what it would be like to walk down the side of the freeway. Now I know. It is kind of a thrilling feeling. 

Cumbica!

This place is gorgeous! 

I love Sister Aledo.

I want to come here every single Pday! I love it.

David's baptism! He is a guitarist & vocalist! He has such a strong testimony and has left so much behind to follow The Lord! Yes! 

I got transferred!

So guess what. I GOT transferred. To Cumbica. Favelas ate o po! Lots of tears were shed. President had called SAturday and had given hints that I was going to be a senior and he told Sister Waite to pack her bags. So logico nos duas pensamos com certeza ela vai ir. Monday we planned on visiting all of the recent converts and planned a family home evening with Bispo and Bianca, Our favorite families. I didn't even bother saying goodbye because of what President had said. So when we got the call, it was the biggest shock ever. I just cried. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LORENA. Amo amo amo amo.I love the members. I love the people we have helped come unto Christ. I love Sister Waite. I want to be her companion for the rest of the mission. I love our zone. I love our distrit leaders. I was so sad. It felt like leaving home all over again. So when we got to Bispo's, I walked in,, Stella saw my face and just hugged me and cried. Then Bianca hugged me and cried. Then the girls (Yasmin and Ana) came up tscreaming sister to hug me and then they were confused why I was crying. I told them I was leaving and Yasmin said she was going to protest. When I left Yasmin started crying so so hard and just hugged me forever so then I was crying again. Yikes I am a mess. Bispo called us at 4:30 am because he and Stella were worried about us getting there and offered to take us to the rodoviara. So when Elder Pila ( my ld) and Elder Barbosa found I was going, guess what they did? They sacrificed their p-day and called the financial secretary and begged for a reimbursment so they could go to Sao Paulo to help me with my bags. They got a bus at 5am to come to Lorena AND Elder Pila made me brigadeiros. When I said goodbye to them and thanked them, they both almost cried. Ahhhh. BUTTTTTT, TUDO TEM PROPOSITO! Disso eu sei. I know there are people for me to meet here in Cumbica. I am so excited to meet them. Everyone I have talked to has sad Cumbica is awesome and that they loved it. YES MISSIONS! I love missions. My new companion is Sister ALedo! She has been out six months and is from Washington! Her Portugeese is way good! She seems really really sweet. I think we are going to be really good friends too. I can feel it.I am excited to be in Cumbica! I know there is so much to learn and people to meet!. I am still getting to know the area but we have already met this awesome awesome family! The Mom is named Adriana and she has three daughters who wants to be baptized. They were going to be this week but they had drank coffee so they are getting baptized this week. Their desire to follow the Lord is incredible. Adriana wants to be baptized too and when I was teaching about baptism yesterday she felt the Spirit so strong and was crying and I felt it too! The knowledge that we have a Savior who loves us and has died for us because of that love is one of the most tender things ever. I am way excited to meet more people here and share this knowledge with them! There is a recent convert here and his name is George Michael. He was named after the one and only... George Michael who sings "Careless Whisper". I keep on saying "Booooooo, he doesn't like George Michael!" Michael is way neat though, he is preparing to serve a mission and he gives us lots of references! But Cumbica thus far is awesome. Love it. That is pretty much all for this week! Thanks so much for all who sent birthday wishes, it meant the world to me! Love you guys!!

On September 7th it was Independance Day so Sister Waite and I got all decked out. NO ONE is patriotic here, I think I saw more red, white and blue than yellow, green and blue. Everyone stared at us weird and I kept on saying Salve salve, and Patria Amada to Sister Waite. 

This is from the Pday we went to the ecological park. Obviously I should be a wildlife photographer when I grow up. This is a quality picture here! 

Sister Rodrigues is the sweetest and she gave me a present at transfers. She is the cutest and will forever be a lifelong friend!