Hi!
So, just as a starter, I am being transferred tomorrow! Yesterday we had a ward activity (I´ll explain later) and President came and I just asked, so should I say my goodbyes President? Yeah you probably should sister. No!!! I am so grateful that I have had the oppurtunity to serve in Vila Prudente. I absolutely love love love this area.I love all of the sweet investigators and experiences I have had here. Ramon, Silvia, Cesar, Gemeul, Tereza, and many more, I have gained a fuller testimony from these sweet people. I love the ward. The ward here really feels like my home ward and family, and I have such a love for these members. They are incredible. I have learned so much from their examples, and charity they have for others. I have just felt so much sincere love from this ward. AH I just love them so much. They will have a special place in my heart. I am grateful that I have had Sister Jensen as a companion. She is amazing. It was honestly so easy to be a missionary with her. Everything just flowed perfectly, and we had the same vision on everything. She has the best attitude towards learning quickly, loves the people, loves the work. I could go on and on about her, she is a powerhouse! I have learned lots from her, and am grateful that we got to work together.I also couldn´t have asked for a better ending to such a great chapter of my mission. This week was perfect. So we finished preparing Gemeul for his baptism this week. That entire family has the sweetest spirit and the most faith. He understood everything so simply and was so willing to do whatever it took to be prepared for baptism. He would read every pamphlet and then ask really thoughtful questions. The day of his baptism was perfect. Sister Jensen and I tried getting all of the youth to come to the baptism on a Saturday night because it was Gemeul´s birthday. He turned 18 and was baptized on the same day! I won´t lie, I was a little nervous that no one would come. We got there, set everything up, and then 3 young men from our ward came. My stomach dropped a little, and then somehow, all of the youth showed up one by one. Every single one of them. It was so sweet, they even sang a musical number for him!! The baptism was so sweet. People always say cliché things like oh, you were glowing but Gemeul really was glowing. The whole baptism just had a sweet feling about it.
This Sunday was also really special. We had two people set for going to church and one didn´t show up, and the other we went to pickup and she wasn´t there. We were determined to have one person at church, because we promised that we would have at least one investigator every week for church. So, we left and hit the streets to find someone. The streets were pretty much empty, but we happened upon this woman named Maria. She was dirty, had tattered clothes, and just seemed like she lived a hard life. We invited her to come, and she accepted the invitation. As we sat there during sacrament meeting, I just kind of observed her and started thinking. What would Christ have done? He would have been with this woman and loved her the same as everyone else. I could see her divine worth shining through. We read in the scriptures that he went about the publicans and sinners, and said that those who are well don´t need a physician. He loves each of us, equally, and wants each of us to feel of His love for us. The amazing thing of missions is that we feel so close to Christ and we get to share of His message of love to everyone we meet. I was able to learn a valuable lesson through Maria, of how the gospel is for anyone and everyone. I testify that Christ´s gospel and His Atonement is truly for all mankind, and that it is the remedy for all of life´s trials. Sunday evening we had our ward´s mini MTC, an activity Sister Falcão and I had high hopes of doing. It was perfect. So many members came, and really the members are the ones who put on the activity. I know that missionary work is going to take wildfire in Vila Prudente. To really connect and see the member´s testimonies of the work in action was so neat. I felt the Spirit so strongly throughout the whole activity.
I am excited for transfers and feel a peace about what will happen. I am sad to leave Vila Prudente, but I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me. I know that it will be amazing and I will love it. Hurrah for Israel!!
love love love,
SIster Caravalho
Gems of the Week:
SIster Jensen´s prank with the roach. Pictures to come.
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