Like the Moon, we do not Shine without the Sun/Son.

My lovely companion, Hermana de Jesus

Hi!

I can't explain how much I love my companion. She is literally the Bahian missionary version of Allison Garner. How cool is it that I walk about teaching the restored gospel with my best friend?

Thanksgiving without the family was just fine, I was so busy that I didnt even realize what day it was until Sister pointed out I was fasting on Thanksgiving. Hahaha!

An irma invited us over to meet some "friends" and we figured out they were 7 young men studying to be PADRES (Priests) in the Catholic church...and they were SO MUCH FUN!! Teaching them the Restoration was something I'll never forget, that's for sure! They said they admired our courage, hahaha!! They are bright lovely people, and they accepted our invite to read the Book of Mormon (Irma just happened to have 7 hardback Book of Mormons in her cupboard ;)

This week I learned SO MUCH and I still don't know what I should share because time is limited! I learned about pride, faith, light, and the word of wisdom.:)

Teaching Seven Catholic Priests

I think I will talk about light. :) Light has always fascinated me and has an extremely special meaning to me. I believe it has everything to do with who God is, progression, and who I want to be! This transfer I put a picture of "The Light Bearer" (a picture mum sent to Ava a few weeks ago, see below) on my planner as a reminder that my goal is shine so that others will be drawn to Christ! I also learned after chosing my personal theme the the church's  Christmas theme for the year is also Seja a Luz do Mundo (#LighttheWorld)! We hand out cute little cards to everyone we meet and invite them to shine, too. Also, my companion is one of the most light-filled people I have met!

SO! The plan was to show up in Vila Virginia and just SHINE...but it didn't really work out that way. I was absolutely EXHAUSTED for the first 2 weeks, and found it almost impossible to summon the energy to shine all day. One day this week, I was thinking "Heavenly Father set all this up for me to truly learn how to be a light, so why am I failing?" I then began to study my favorite scriptures about light and my patriarchal blessing and realized I was going about it all wrong!

Ruth's Baptism

I, Ava Ludlam, nao tenho minha propria luz! (I do not have my own light) But I can shine when I look towards the source of true light: Christ. Like the moon, we do not shine without the sun/Son. It is not MY LIGHT that I need to be shining, it is the light of Christ! This week has been incredible because I began to find strength beyond my own and shine HIS light into the lives of others.

Also, if you haven't checked out the Light of the World site on mormon.org, come and see! It will make this Christmas the happiest one yet because it will be centered on Christ and shining light into the lives of Gods children.

LOVE YOU ALL!!