Miracles in the Promised Land

A very Brasilian picture...

 (Video link to their song is in 2nd paragraph)

This week was wonderful!

Remember when I said John, our investigator, had fasted without being asked? Well, we discovered it was actually so that God would help him find a job. I promised that if he could find a job, he would never drink coffee again. Not even a WEEK later, he got a job. With that job, he got a car, 2 phones, and other benefits. That is a MIRACLE here in Sao Paulo. Sister and I discovered a little while later that this story is even more miraculous. We went to Irma Rujamas house, and her brother Elton from another ward (they are both recent converts), said that in 3 months he was promoted many times and now is in a very high position in one of the best businesses in Sao Paulo. During his second week in his current position, they were in a board meeting and the boss points to him and says, “You are going to find the best 4 people you know and hire them for the team.” INCREDIBLE!! That is SUCH A MIRACLE! John has been doing very well so far. 

We love Ana!

The Sé Cathedral. Sao Paulo

This week Sister Lee and I recorded “Where Love Is” or “Onde Há Amor” because it is a very special song to both of us. You can watch their video here. Sister Lee loves it because it reminds her of her mother, every time she hears it she just closes her eyes and its like she goes somewhere. When I was going through a rough patch in my first area, Lia began to record and send a song every week to me. If I remember correctly, that was the first one. When I put my memory chip in our phone, I heard her voice for the first time in so long and it was so comforting. Whenever things would get hard, I would lay in the hammock on our apartment balcony and stare at the sky, listening to Lia's voice and would harmonize with her to this song. It is now one of my favorite songs! Lyrics to song (Scroll down under sheet music.)

Beautiful Sao Paulo

So the missionaries in the Sao Paulo MTC get to leave sometimes and do contacts on the most famous avenue in Sao Paulo: Avenida Paulista. I have already gotten two references from it, and they were both ready to hear the gospel. Anyway, a few weeks ago we got a reference for a girl named Lays (pronounced Lie-ees, not like the chips haha). We showed up and her mom, Vanessa, was rather unhappy with the fact that we had all of her daughters information, but she said we could come back. She was kind of sassy, but I had a REAL good feeling about her all along! We have taught them a few times and every time it's even better. We are also tutoring Lays in English. And this week…THEY ACTUALLY CAME TO CHURCH! I was so so so so happy!  Cintia came, too, and all of the talks and lessons were just PERFECT for all of them.

Poá

Another cool miracle: A missionary from Sao Paulo that is serving in Curitiba (Brasil) sent an email to Sister Lee a while ago saying that we need to visit her mom and sisters. They haven’t been able to skype or email for her whole mission, so we tried so hard to help find
a way for Terezinha (her mom) to talk with her daughter. Every time we went to her house, she wasn’t there and we would leave notes saying to CALL US and COME TO CHURCH so we can plan it out with you. We were about to give up, but decided to bring it up in Ward Council and the first counselor of the bishopric basically said, “We'll take care of it. After church, show us where she lives and we will take her to our house.” We got there after church and…she wasn’t there again. As we were about to write another note and leave, she came walking down the hill! It all worked out, they got to talk!

The next day, the irmao told the story of what happened to the ward council. He said he had to call President Silcox, who called her mission president, who called her.  The internet wasn’t working but suddenly began to, and then she began to cry and he said, “When I heard the two begin to scream, when the call finally went through, a mother and a daughter united after so long, it was such a beautiful experience for us. Just a little bit of effort on our part made all the difference to this family.”

Terezinha used to say she didn’t like the church because it wouldn’t let her talk with her daughter, but after we bent over backwards to help her, she is now accepting the lessons and says she will go to church next week. Hooray! This same irmao went to Cintia's house at the last minute to pick up Cintia. He is a perfect example of why Poá is the promised land. I have never received so many referrals in my whole mission as I have these last 4 weeks. I am so spoiled to be here with Sister Lee, the most wonderful companion.

Love to all,  Sister L