Sister Lillie Haggard

May 23, 2016

Weekly Update:

This week was great!

Dinuan was baptized!!! It was a really special day. The young women also sang a song for her after the baptism.

This week we were at Di´s house teaching her. One day we had planned to have a division but the sisters from the ward couldn’t do it at the last minute and we also planned to bring the 1st counselor of the bishopric to teach that day but he also couldn´t make it. But it was really the Lord because we had a special moment and Di really opened up to us in a way she wouldn´t have had there been other people there. She asked us questions that were really important to her and we were able to answer.

This moment was also very special because she shared her conversion story with us. She explained that she had started coming to church 4 years ago when she started dating her boyfriend who is a member. And she liked the Church, liked it´s teachings, knew baptism was a good and right thing, but didn´t feel or see baptism applying to her. With more time coming to church she felt less of a need to get baptized because she was already doing all the other church things. She said many many missionaries over the years passed by and told her she needed to be baptized but she always said no. Recently she was talking to her boyfriend and said that she had always received the missionaries but now she felt she would tell the sisters (now sister Bezerra and I) that she didn´t want to be baptized and so we didn´t need to return. However when we invited Di to be baptized to her surprise more than anyone´s, very much against her plans, she said yes. Dinuan was doing her part, coming to church learning about the gospel reading the scriptures, so over the years the Holy Ghost was helping her build her testimony. And when Sister Bezerra and I returned after a break of the missionaries coming, she was doing her part and prayed and read the chapter in the Book of Mormon (Enos) that we had left her, so when we made the invitation to be baptized the Holy Ghost gave her the push she needed to accept.

This was such a sweet moment because I know I´ve helped people here, I´ve even helped some get baptized, but it was the first time hearing an investigator/convert share their conversion story with me in it. I`m so grateful for the opportunity I have to know Di and really feel and recognize the role of the Espírito Santo- Ele faz Tudo! I really liked teaching Di too because I shared a lot of stories about my mom and her conversion story and her courage to take the leap and get baptized. I´m so grateful for this Church, it is perfect. The love our Heavenly Father has for us is immeasurable and His plan shows it.

Hair cutzzzz

The Zone

batismo

capel

Macedonia

May 16, 2016

Weekly Update:

This week went by quick. Next week we will have a multi zone conference the last of President Del Guerso :´( And afterwards we´ll all go to the temple :)

This transfer is going by so fast, already half way over. This morning we went to Polícia Federal for some visa stuff, I miss the center. This month is the month of consecration, so we try to talk only about mission stuff and don´t leave our areas on p day, and next month is the last with Del Guerso. Our Pres is really great about letting us go downtown for our p days and I´m afraid that the next Pres won´t allow us to do anything so I have made a list and will try to visit a few sites I haven´t yet in the p days of next month.

This week we started a bit rough because the whole zone was a little sick with colds, and we were worried about our investigators, but we were able to visit Dí and Joice are they´re firme forte. We taught Dí this week with Irmã Selm, we skyped from her house and she is very very funny. I taught these last two English classes at the church on Saturday. Sister Bezerra has a really cute accent. It´s like everybody turns into children it´s very cute.

We were walking on the sidewalk with a member Yuli- Yuli is super cool he always teaches with us and is prepping for his mission too- and a member from another ward who was driving stopped and gave us a reference- We went to the reference and she said she´s Catholic, but is really interested about the Church, already reading the Book of Mormon and would like to come to church! I´m not sure if she has an interest beyond curiosity, but she was really nice and cool. This area is awesome! We always get references do nada and the members help us so much. The Elders who we share the area also got a reference from the President. The President of Sao Paulo north has a person who works in his house who lives in Macedônia and the elder had also talked with her in the street one time. This area is crazy!

This Saturday the ward had a dinner for the moms and that was cool.

I will go cut my hair soon, it only took a year.

But that´s about it I think.

Até próxima semana

Sister Haggard

May 9, 2016

Weekly Update:

This week was awesome. We taught Joice who has been coming to church with a friend. We had talked to her about baptism and she was like hhmmm not right now. So we came back another day to teach her more. When we were there her mom was getting her nails done by a friend and the friend had a ton of questions for us and so we just conversed and the friend was like, "I think this church is true" after a bunch of questions and we were like ya. It was perfect because by time the nails were finished and the friend left it was really natural to talk about baptism with Joice and her mom Leda. We prayed and thought about a date and when we invited her to be baptized she was like ya! And the date was the day of her b day which we didn´t know before she turns 15- it was a special way to show that the Lord answers prayers and is really present in His work. We talked to the mom and she also allowed.

A less active is coming back to the church and so we are working with her husband and her son who turned 9 today! We marked her son for baptism too and the husband is really good too so we´ll see :)

We´re also teaching an investigator who is really great, Dí. She was a little unsure about baptism too, had already planned on it but it didn´t work out, but we´ve had some really spiritual lessons with her and she also wants to be baptized and accepted a day. She said in one of the lessons how she´s a little afraid because she didn´t want to make the decision and afterwards know these things and make mistakes. I shared about my beautiful mom how before this was also a concern for her but in the end she took the decision to be baptized and I explained how grateful I am for her decision and her courage. It was a great lesson.

There are so many miracles happening I love this area.

This Saturday the ward also had a baptism of Victor who is a super cute 8 yr old and is great friends with our investigator Geovani who is 12 . Geovani took the bus by himself to go to the baptism. He is really great too.

The Elders had a baptism this Sunday that was so so beautiful. A family returned to the church who is very humble. The two oldest boys had been baptized but the younger brother of 13 and the sister of 12 hadn´t yet. The boy doesn´t have arms or legs. The oldest brother baptized them and at the end of both, they gave a hug that was really beautiful. It was a great moment.

AND I skyped with the most beautiful family on the Earth

AND AND AND MY BRO NATHANAEL GOT ENGAGED. CONGRATULATIONS NATHANAEL AND TEHANI. I´m way excited and happy you guys are super cute yayyay :)

I´m so grateful - really missions bless families!

Áte próximo,

Sister Haggard

Some pics of the area

Born in Oregon so I guess I'm Brazilian

May 2, 2016

Weekly Update:

This week was da hora. I flippin love Macedônia and Sister Bezerra. I was sad to leave Intercap because of our investigators but really the Lord knows what´s best and I´m so glad to be here. Lunch with the members here is soooooo good yummm It´s weird because generally in richer areas the food is sometimes fancy but the food in the more humble areas is always better and generally they make much more :)

Sister Bezerra and I are on the same page in terms of working and everything so it´s a good companionship. We live in the house just us two but we eat lunch with the elders who we share the area with- Elder Barton who is training Elder dos Santos and Elder Travassos. They were put in a trio because the visa of Elder Santos came in and he will leave for New York at the end of the month. It is always super fun eating lunch with Elders. Elder dos Santos is very funny.

I really like the ward here everyone is very nice and helps us and the missionary work. We got a reference from our ward mission leader of a boy Jeovani, who has been coming to church with him and he really wants to be baptized, so we will start teaching his mom and him so we´re pretty happy about that. The area here is all houses. People here are very receptive because it´s humble here. I really like it. Everything is cheap here which is good too. In Perdizes everything was super expensive. People here are super nice :)