1 year now...and who am I? A Mother?

Wow everyone, I always plan exactly what I want to say the next week after I see what I didn’t get to or explain but then so much more happens during the week! Lemme get started. 

I wanted to explain some of the great people that I spend my time with here in Ferreira. The first one is Aparecido: a recent convert who is 63 and very lively. He can fix basically anything and loves to chat and give us what he has. He always makes us tea and shares fruit or avocados that grow from his garden. It’s always a great Sunday cause his calling is the greeter. Love it! We have been helping him a lot with praying and studying the scriptures. He calls us his angels and sometimes I’m the "Italiano" or "Alemanha" (Italian or German) haha basically cause of my light skin. He said he would go around smiling everywhere if he had my smile. I love him to death :) 

The next person is Paola: a recent convert who is about 30 and has a little 2 year old girl Alice. She has such a strong testimony and is progressing so well. We have been able to help her with this transition and see her immense progress! She loves to listen to the hymns on her way to work (a kid’s nurse) but our joke is that it’s only an instrumental when it’s on the Portuguese setting but they have a singing option when in English. I guess they don’t have time to have Portuguese singers. She also found a hot chocolate mix that she can take to work to make because they took away the tea option and only had coffee. Then this is the big news; she had suggested to her boss to move her to another wing or area so she could work the Monday to Friday shift (cause right now she works one Sunday then not) but her boss returned to her a couple weeks later asking "don’t you think you could just stay with us here and work Monday to Friday?" she said "Of course!" She testified to us that the Lord was helping her do what’s right and stay where she absolutely loves to work. I was so happy when I heard that! 

Now with the new president change I would like to share a bit about them - President Thomas W. Thomas and Sister Ellen Thomas. They got here a couple of weeks ago very excited to get working and loving the missionaries. President Thomas left being a surgeon at his highest success but accepted to come serve us. He is very humble and so is Sister Thomas. They have 6 children, and brought their youngest daughter who is 17 with them. I have been blessed to really see behind the scenes in how the switch goes and what is must be like to start taking care of a mission. I’ve been able to guide them a few times in their car to get where they need to go and actually had a chance to help sister Thomas make a few leis for the outgoing missionaries and incoming ones as well (she actually decided afterwards that 40 leis was not going to happen haha so she is going to think of how to do it in the future when she has more time but it was still fun wrapping all the goodies and reminiscing about Hawaii days :) 

 

We had a special opportunity to have Sister Thomas come to a family night with us where we taught a recent convert and his mom who’s a member. We tried talking slower and the mom knew most English so it was a great experience for us all to remember that the spirit speaks stronger than fluent Portuguese. Sister Thomas always bears the strongest but simplest testimonies. I was so blessed to be there! 

So those were a few people that I have been spending my days with this week but now I want to explain this week! During a division we did I got to stay with Sister Gomes, the sweetest sister ever! We weren’t having much success in finding anyone and we stopped in the church to get some water. I really wanted to teach someone with her so I felt we needed to pray. I needed to rely on the Lord. So I prayed that one of our investigators would be at home and that we could teach her. She wasn’t there when we passed by but I said, "We prayed for her to be here so we are coming back around 7!" We tried more people with no luck and made our way back, happy to find the car in the garage. They were home! The Lord really blessed us with a wonderful lesson with S. and E. We read a part of the BoM and talked of many things. I was so happy that He answered our prayer and could end our day with a lesson :) I am really understanding that prayer helps us see the will of the Lord. We pray for guidance and inspiration, that’s the Lord allowing himself to show the path He wants us to take. Without our prayers, He can’t answer them and show us what He desires us to do. Boy am I grateful for prayer and how it connects us to our Heavenly Father. 

Friday was pretty funny cause sister Harris had to go renew her Visa, so four of us stayed behind while our four companions went to the police station. While we stayed, we got to do some contacts near the temple and I got to meet 3 sisters who will be coming to our mission tomorrow! Super excited for them! So then we get a call that the Elder forgot a document they needed so they were going to get back late.....long story short, I called our Irmã who was going to give us lunch and she was more than happy to let us four come and eat! So off we went to eat lunch and it was very special cause Irmã said that as she was preparing lunch she felt the impression that "more will come to lunch, prepare extra" so she did :) I was so inspired by her spiritual sensitivity even when it involved making lunch. The loaves and fishes is what we referred to haha so that was a fun happening on my year mark! 

Anyway, I will get to the fun part of transfers!!! Sunday I was saying my goodbyes cause I had been here 3 transfers already but it was confirmed to me I was being transferred when I got a call from the Assistant thanking for my service as an STL but that I was being released. Now that’s not what I was expecting but I felt calm about it. Then president called me and I’m thinking, huh? He sweetly called to explain that I wasn’t being released out of "displeasure" but that he was wanting to make a few changes and that something they repeatedly said in the MTC was the importance of the first companion of the missionary and not the District leader or Sister Training Leader and that he needed me to train a new sister. I was very touched by his reassurance and know that we are going to do great in Caucaia do Alto! I will pick up my daughter tomorrow :) Sooo excited but wondering how opening up an area will be like. Any ideas? 

Thanks for everything! I am doing well. Wondering what it will be like leaving all these great people and skyscrapers to an area where there are more cows than people. Only God knows exactly why but I have a bit of time to find out :) A work that comes to an end only means another is about to begin! 

Loves

Sister Oldroyd-Who’s expecting a girl! But is she Brasilian? American? Likes sports? We will see :)

Translating times two :)

This week was great :) Tuesday we taught English class- the classic head shoulders knees and toes and practiced parts of the body. Then we did a mad libs game! It went so well! We were laughing our heads off with the phrase "I have a ____ head". What kind of head do you have? A big one?  Then we got to teach a lady named V. this week which was a blessing. She just came in to English class wanting to know more, so we marked the next day to meet with her! She had so many questions but we were able to have a great lesson and leave the Book of Mormon with her! Then Wednesday came around where we had "get to know President Thomas!" He had the mission split into a group of zones in a space of a couple of days so our day was Wednesday with two other zones. I got to play piano and translate Emily’s and Sister Thomas' talks. Haha.

This is Emily! President Thomas' daughter! She is so sweet . . . and tall!

Well.....when we rushed in after our lunch and I already knew I had to start playing prelude but then and elder asked us that we needed to translate. What? Ok, so we decided that I would do the first half of the meeting and Sister Harris would do the last half. My half included their talks. So yay me! They were so patient and talked slowly (most of the time) and the audience helped me with a few words or verbs I hadn’t used or had forgotten. Sister Thomas speaks so strongly with the spirit and they all do actually. On Sunday in RS the lady gave Sister Thomas a minute to share how they taught their children to stay worthy to marry in the temple and she said the coolest thing about how Heavenly Father’s work is Moses 1:39 but it also is the work of our Mother in Heaven. "There isn’t anything a mother wouldn’t do for her children, so they can marry in the temple" -Sister Thomas. This is the work of our Mother in Heaven as well :) Loved it!

we tried a new bakery and I found this huge toast looking thing! yeah I gotta try it, then I had most saved and decided to share it with my favorite doorman at our apartment when we got home that night...he liked it so much that as we were going up in the elevador he used the microphone and said "hey, this is really good!" in portuguese, "é bom, viu?" haha

I also had a great division with Sister Dias this week where we were led by the spirit and saw the Lord’s hand in this week. We had left to do contacts and teach early before lunch and the first house only had the cleaning lady so we decided to go somewhere else, but sister Dias told me that she felt like we needed to try the lady again and I had felt like we could’ve taught the lady who told us she wasn’t home...so off we went back to the house! We only ended up leaving a pamphlet cause she would have been in trouble for stopping her work but we felt better after that BUT as we were leaving Sister Dias did a contact with a lady nearby and long story short, we ended up teaching her, her sister and 5 children; In total, 5 new investigators who had been living two houses down from ours. The Lord is so loving and patient! So glad we followed the spirit!

Some fun things this week, I got to play keep away (knock out? I’ve forgotten many soccer terms) with 3 boys before lunch in their living room haha. I only had to be in the middle a couple of times :) woot woot. Sunday we got to sing "Search ponder and pray" during the Counselor’s talk cause he called us that morning asking for a favor. (He was alone that day because the others are traveling and President Costa was there. Poor guy had a lot to do) Yup we just got up there without practicing and sang it in Portuguese. The pianist in the ward was kind enough to go up and play for us.

on our way back from the division I couldn't resist....gotta love the signs in Brasil...soooo detailed haha

Something I have been studying this week is love, charity and growth. Growth shows progress. If we aren’t growing, we aren’t accepting that which is given and God has given everything. Show God your gratitude by growing!( D&C 34:1-4) I have to go now but keep up the great work! Stay happy, keep growing and allow God’s gifts to bless you :) Roots are essential to having strong branches. Guess who are our roots? Ancestors! Christ! We have so many strong roots! That was random but I can’t help myself :) There are so many cool metaphors and parables. Do you have a favorite?

Loves
Sister Oldroyd- the happy English Portuguese switcher

A Del Guerso Goodbye and a Thomas Translator

Well folks this is gonna be quick! Lemme just say that switching Presidents is quite different especially when you work in the President’s ward. This week was all over the place but I’m still in one piece and I think the Thomas' are too :)

geckos are still my buddies

So this week we were able to find pants to use at a bazar for 10 reais a piece. That was a score! Then we had a great quick lesson with A. and M. about the Book of Mormon and were able to bear testimony of its truth and how glad I am to have one more testimony that Christ is our Savior. We found a new investigator, A., who knows a little about the church but has a lot of questions about baptism. So we are going to help her with that :)

Wore them that night and it was soooo weird haha it was only 3 hours but still!

In English class, one of our students who I just adore, practiced writing a prayer in English and just made me tear up. She said "thank you for my Sisters, Oldroyd and Harris, because they truly are sisters." She’s going to write us each a copy of it cause it was the sweetest most sincere prayer I have ever heard :)

So Wednesday came around where we sang for President and Sister Thomas (and Emily their daughter) at the mission home. We ended up staying with them and President and Sister Del Guerso the rest of the day because Sister Thomas asked if we could translate. SO we went with them to lunch and to the apartment where I said my last good bye to President Del Guerso. He had finished showing them around and hugged them good bye then turned to me, held up his hand to give me a high five like usual but as I went to high five his hand, he pulled me into a hug and whispered with tears in his eyes, "I love you." I mustered out "I love you too" but couldn’t believe what was happening. We waited there while he made his way to the front gate, wiping his eyes and realizing that his mission had come to an end. I am so grateful for the leadership and love of this man. He has done such good in this three year span and I know he will be very blessed for it. After this I was able to turn to the Thomas family and say through my tears "We are so excited for you guys and all you will do here!" We helped them with a few more things but later we just let them settle in themselves. It was fun during the week answer questions or help them out, like making it to the chapel for Conselho (Council) the following Thursday. They are going to do great! Every time Sister Thomas bears her simple yet spiritual testimony in Portuguese I get so emotional! And President Thomas is going to be fabulous. They are so humble and so excited :) They also gave us a ride to church and I showed them where the chapel was.

President and Sister Thomas

This week we also got to do a "helping hands" project with food storage of rice and beans (obviously).  All in all this week was full of emotions, English, the spirit, and love. I am so lucky to be a missionary. I am so happy. Use the strength of Heaven. Am I giving my heart to God? He helps us especially in struggles. For me, He gave His life. Often times we write only what we hear, and not what we feel. You can’t believe in Christ and not His words, it’s a package deal :) This was just a piece of what I learned this week!

Love you all -Boa Semana

Sister Oldroyd, the English translator :)

Don’t run more than you have to

Wow fam and friends...let’s just say we need to celebrate Festa Junina like they do here! Every weekend they have one going on! It’s basically just celebrating the month of June and the traditional things that the northern Brasilians used...corn. It’s corn, corn, corn! So many sweets made of corn! And peanuts :) All the kids are so cute in cowboy and cowgirl stuff. They play in plastic ball pools, trampolines etc. There was a really tasty grape (generally wine) cider juice thing, and lots of Paçoca treats. One of our investigators and her husband came a little later and participated in the dancing! They loved it and I was so happy they came!

S and her husband came to the Festa Junina! They danced!  woot woot they are investigating the church a bit with us :)

This week has gone by quick and I have loved every minute, even in the cold, even with tired eyes (and you know it when basically every lesson someone comments on us looking tired...it’s not our fault...we're working walking missionaries kk) This week I was reminded of a simple basic I learned from beloved soccer. A wise coach once taught me, "don’t run more than you have to, hold onto the ball, use your teammates, and together you will score a goal. Don’t make irrational decisions (or passes)" This totally has to do with missionary work! I don’t need to run around working, finding people, teaching, more than I need to. I can use my companion, ward members, and most importantly the Lord. When you think about the teammates we have on our team, it’s pretty awesome. We've got Heavenly Father, Our Savior, the Holy Ghost, Family members, ward members, companions, the scriptures...etc. Anyway, this scripture made me think of all this, in Mosiah 4:27. Isn’t it just amazing what we can each individually get out of the scriptures? This scripture to my mom, probably wouldn’t bring soccer metaphors to her mind :) Everything has their order and way to the Lord. And God can’t give us direction if we aren’t paying attention.

I love this lady! she is so sweet and makes me think of Grandma G! :)

This week we were able to have a great family night with R and her daughter A. I had a fun idea of playing the chocolate bar game, with dice and breaking it open with a dull knife and a glove etc. In the end I wanted to teach about enduring to the end but we got more out of it as they shared their ideas. I love learning from other people and what they think. Once we taste that reward of the chocolate, we wanted others to taste a bit of it, just like Lehi. Something I’m trying to do better is to seek for the truth and goodness of things. It is everywhere. I just need to look a little closer and more openly. Let God show me His goodness :) I’ve loved some phrases in the hymns like "Help me dear Father, to freely forgive. Help to live nearer, nearer to Thee". That’s our goal! Earn His trust, live closer to him.

This week was great because of another fast we did to find new people and have the few we have progress. Things are coming along but the Lord truly blessed us with allowing us to enter a few condominiums that are hard to get into without an appointment. So me and my comp laughed a bit when they said, “yeah you can come in”....we were like what? Thank you Lord! We were so happy! The little things in life. We weren’t able to teach them but we were able to leave our number :) that’s progress :)

Our new president is coming this Wednesday (yesterday) from California! Pres Thomas! We are going to sing for him. Let’s see how that goes without a piano kkkk.

 I love you all! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I’m doing great and learning a lot. I love how the mission is making me into what the Lord planned, at least I hope I am :) Keep working on recognizing the spirit, it’s a great mystery for us all sometimes.

Boa Semana! Beijos-

Sister Oldroyd- the sister who isn’t afraid to give the thumbs up and start walking on the crosswalk to try and get the rushing cars to stop...let’s go companion...they stopped!

this dog made my day!!! I just couldn't resist taking a pic...luckily I had my camera! he is huge!!

11 Months and Fasting Miracles!

Well is anyone else surprised that 11 months has already made its way into my life as a missionary? I sure can’t. Well you all probably knew that to celebrate my 11 month mark, I bought a decked out hot dog :) It was delicious and went great with some onion rings and mango juice. The other tender mercy on that day was a member came up behind us and paid for our lunch, saying "I have a son out on the mission as well." We sat with him and talked to him about his life. Really fun way to celebrate right? Also, got a sundae at Burger King.

As a zone we decided to do a fast after that lunch so I began my fast as I was on a division with Sister C. Silva. We set off and had some ups and downs. Trying to do some contacts and enter some buildings when we got to the house part of my area. We went to a marked lesson with S. and she was there! Let us in and we were able to teach the first lesson! She also said, sure, when I asked her if we could stop by Sunday morning to go to church together! Yes! Score for fasting! We also were able to teach P. again in the church and it has been so wonderful to see her progression. She’s said that the transition has been hard and she realizes that after a really right choice is made, usually Satan tries his hardest to sway you from your confidence. He tries you and she knows that! But she’s not letting go! Which I’m so proud of her for realizing :)

Our English class this week was small but very uplifting because I got to explain the Book of Mormon to M. a little bit more. He was asking a couple questions and trying to understand the situation better. We are going to teach him and his wife A. tonight :) I’m excited!

This fast also brought 2 more new investigators! K. and M. K also lives close to the church and let us in. I found her name in the area book and saw that she had been taught a while back. Later to find out she had passed through a very hard experience of losing her son so she didn’t want to know anything about the church until now. She’s very sweet and has some back problems but wants to learn more and we are going to see her tonight :) M. was another miracle. We were walking to pick up our lunch money when we stopped to do a contact with a lady and her son. She goes "What do you want?" We explained a bit more and she said "Wanna come up to my apartment?" We were shocked. Still hadn’t eaten lunch yet so said we would be back in about an hour.  After lunch we rushed back and were able to teach her the first lesson and give her a Book of Mormon! She’s hilarious, basically gave me all this advice about marriage etc. cause she saw we were only 20. But it was interesting because around the end of the lesson when we introduced the BoM, she goes..."You’re Mormons?" We say, yes but that the name of the church is....The Church of Jesus etc..." and she said we were nothing what she had imagined as a Mormon. So many people make up things about us and she was happy to see that we were normal people haha. Anyway, it was a great week with miracles and I can truly testify of the power fasting has. I don’t know what our week would have been like without it. This area is led by the Lord and He helps us know who is prepared in this area to be taught. I’m so grateful for the basic principles that are finally clearing up to me.

A little adventure that me and my comp did (as two Americans it was very daring :) We went to 25 de Março! It’s a street here that is just lined with stores and stores and places to buy random things :) We got permission, only took a bit of money, our bus passes and our phone. First got on a bus, then got on the Metro and walked our way there. I found a few fun items. I didn’t really know what I wanted but got a cool Rio 2016 Olympics shirt :) sweats and a soccer hat haha you know me. I gotta be comfy and Brasilian at the same time. We eventually made it back safely as well! So glad I was able to go! I’m not sure if the new president will let us go so I had to while I still had the chance :)

Know that I’m doing fabulous. I’ll put a few phrases I’ve written in my study journal for you to soak in (only if you want).

1. "All revelations and responses from God should be written down like Holy Scripture. It strengthens your testimony, preserves who you are and shows God your humility to listen and learn"
2. Apply His healing power!
3. Perfection doesn’t necessarily mean "without scar", for Christ’s perfect resurrected body remained marked as a sign of His special sacrifice.
4. The prophet models Gods Fatherly Figure and Role.

Something else new in my studies is picking a hymn to study and read :) Did you know each hymn usually has a few scriptures? I’m lovin it as a part of my study. Hope you have a great week just like it will be for me! This last week was! and the next one will be even better, it just depends on our perspective and if we are willing to laugh off the hard stuff and take on the blessings. Lovin it!

Beijos

Sister O- the Sister missionary who still hasn’t used pants on the mission...I’m afraid....not really but it’s so different.

this was all free! so lucky 

The Coldest, Cup of Tea, Compass Week!

Well as you can see I was able to cram three events of my week in the title. Lemme explain. This week was very chilly!!

Transfers started off great with that. I got to show Sister Harris around Ferreira a bit and have some great adventures. This week we also had Conselho (or the leadership meeting training thing) on the church’s recreational site in Caucaia do Alto. Wednesday morning we made our way there at about 7:30 and got there at 9ish. We were so blessed to have a bunch of sun that day :) There we talked about May and how it went and how we can better prepare to receive our new President who should be getting here on the 29th of June! We have a new calling system with accompanying the sisters/district etc. and have a few other changes so we can be more efficient for President Thomas. Another activity we did was with a compass. The whole instruction thing that the military man gave was going over my head (but that’s not completely true, I understood some of it but it’s been a while since I have talked about math and such and I haven’t really studied Portuguese terminology like that!) Anyway, we were put in a group as STLs so the Elders could do their thing in their groups. He gave us maps with coordinates and said get going! I was designated as the compass holder person which was fun! We ran around, found some targets before others, got lost, but we remained together and finally made it to every spot. Obviously we came in last but we stuck through and were able to complete it together. After we were able to talk a bit about the activity and how it relates to the scriptural compass we have or about the guidance we receive from the Spirit. But like in the activity, we forget to take our time, find the right coordinates, stick it through but rather just start running around like crazy the minute we know the direction. We have all the proper tools in front of us but are we asking the Lord for the direction? Are we running too fast to see that, yes, we had headed in the right direction but have already passed our destination? It’s fascinating to me that the Lord has put everything we need to properly navigate our lives correctly, but we constantly lose our way. He's even there patiently waiting for us to cry out for help so He can give us the answer or the needed direction once again. I loved that activity not only because I got to wear normal clothes (which by the way was a miracle that I had jeans that fit...barely) but that I could be reminded in a simple recreational activity of the simple eternal truths the gospel contains. This life is meant to be fun, and meant to be navigated properly through the compass God has given us. Find north and get going :) I loved that day! 

So some other fun things this week were having an FHE with a family and getting to invite them to leave a book of Mormon with a friend of theirs, and we totally got a referral out of it! Blessings :) Then one day we decided to go to the really far neighborhood in our area to try and find new people and increase our teaching pool. Even though everyone was basically at Festa Junina, (this awesome cowboy, cowgirl activity they celebrate every June, with corn, dancing and peanuts etc.) We found some new people! We had some lessons! The blessing of that day was C! We were about to head back after teaching a couple of people cause we were getting very cold and it was getting dark (it gets dark very early here around, 6:00 it’s already very dark) but we passed C and her beaming smiling face just made us stop to talk with her. She immediately said, "I have a nephew doing what you’re doing!" We were surprised! Really? She invited us in to have some cinnamon/ginger tea, and chat about how she knows the church. Turns out she already had a BoM cause of her two sisters (one lives in Brasil and the other in Australia) and that they’ve talked to her about it a lot but she had no idea that girls could be missionaries too :) It was so wonderful to sit there with her, drink her nice warm tea, eat goiaba cookies, and discuss a little more about what our message contains. We were able to leave her with a part to read in the BoM and we marked a day to come back :) How wonderful it was of the Lord to put her in our path right when we were about to leave! That experience warmed our souls not just cause of the "Chá" or tea but because of the sweet spirit we felt as we testified to her. 

I love my job :) Yes it has been freezing but I’m loving it all. I’ve started wearing tights....woah. I know. Can’t believe it myself! But this weather is askin for it! Anyway, this week has been great! We also got to pop in and leave a few BoM gift packets with some of Sister Del Guerso's (Mission President’s wife) mother’s friends (don’t know if that made sense). Sister Del Guerso's mom is moving and they threw a party and President invited us to come to his house and leave a few BoMs for them. It was very nice of President to include us with something like that and very funny to see him behind the scenes cooking, baking, and wearing an apron.  

Let’s just say it’s been a great chilly week. Thanks for everything you do! Every day should be a blessing because it’s a new start, and a new opportunity for God to show His Existence. Open your eyes, step out the door, and just soak it in. He's there. Can you see Him? 

Love,

Sister Oldroyd 

The chilled to the bone but spiritually warmed sister :)

9 pieces of pizza.....maybe some juice too

Well this week flew by again as usual but this time it flew by with a full stomach :) It seemed like every house or situation was filled with food options. One day we not only ate one lunch but two.... was stuffed that day. Then we were taken to a pizza place for lunch on another day and it was all you could eat where they bring different ones around and I ate 9 pieces! 1 Maracatú, 1 Frango/catupiry, 1 pepperoni, 1 Americana, 1 Bacon, 2 Alcaponi, 1 chocolate, and 1 beijinho....it was such a miracle. I sure felt good about getting my money’s worth haha. The member was pretty happy too :)

So this week was our last district meeting! Took some great pictures and had to say good bye to some great people....We had another great little lesson with N and she said that she was able to have a little missionary experience where she remembered a scripture I had shared in the Bible and that she was able to tell it to her friend. She said it just popped into her head and felt like she needed to tell her friend about Christ’s peace overcomes the temporary moments of peace that the world brings (John 14:27).  I felt so happy for her!

I also don’t know if I have told you guys but we were able to take our recent converts to the temple. To see of their progression is amazing. We were able to see G and A up at the front blessing the sacrament together yesterday. It was such a tender mercy to see them and know how far they have come. President and Sister Farnes (of Sao Paulo Norte mission) said "Congrats. It’s like watching your children up there!" and it’s so true. We were smiling ear to ear as we watched them up there. The Lord is so wonderful and knows exactly what He’s doing with all the steps and progression we can make in the church.

This is our awesome princípios do evangelho class! We are such a great big family now! 

So I would love to hear from all of you about what scriptures means the most to you or what you would think would be a great one to share with someone. I’m all ears because there is always one more scripture to get to know. The more we learn of Him and His doctrine the better a disciple we become.

Transfer happened this Sunday and I will be staying here with Sister Harris! Yes, another American! woot woot! We will see how it goes :) I’m really excited to work with her.

Also this week we had a couple of FHE experiences. Some with games and the other no but all in all FHE is so important! I tried to do the flour tower with a penny but it kinda failed but it was worth a shot.

Something I studied this week was about the leper who needed to wash himself 7 times in a really dirty river. It made me think about how patient and just the Lord is with giving us the simplest of ways to cure ourselves. He doesn’t just hurry and cure us when we ask, not because He doesn’t like to see us in pain but because He wants our faith to build and better itself through action. Think of how simple washing off an illness might sound, just wash it off? What? There’s no way....but he trusted in the Lord and went in faith. Can you imagine what he was thinking as he was on the 4th then 5th time? He must've just been hoping and hoping as it got to the 7th time and to see the wounds wash away. It must have been miraculous and the proof that followed his faith. Imagine folks! We have that same promise to see these miracles, but they come after our faith :) Another principle that I want to better understand is repentance. Repentance to me is a new vision after we have asked for forgiveness and want to be better. We change our vision or where we are looking. We decide to look more towards the path of the Lord and have removed a bit more of the fog that’s in front of our eyes. Also, repentance prepares us to live in God’s presence. Fix your eyes on the glory of God.

Know that I’m learning every day. I might not be having a ton of lessons or a ton of baptisms but the Lord for sure is filling my days with opportunities and miracles. He is my helping hand. It’s a miracle for me to see so many of His children progressing. I’m so blessed to be able to know these Sister missionaries better, to know members, recent converts, myself and the Savior better all because He allowed me to serve. He allowed me to represent His Only Begotten Son. All I can say is wow. Words cannot describe everything. Just know I wish I could write into words the feeling I get when I bear my simple testimony in front of the ward on Sunday or in the street. Wherever I am, it is the same. My testimony is me and my testimony is centralized on Christ, so I’m hoping to become more like Him day by day. I will get better one day at explaining our day to day happenings but just try to imagine waking up every day at 6:30 knowing that today the Lord has promised miracles if you work diligently, worthily and obediently. Just imagine seeing the tears in someone’s eyes when you know they’ve felt the spirit. Just imagine getting splashed in the street but laughing about it because it’s only gutter water and will wash out but that you don’t get mad because you are in Brasil, serving these people, experiencing life there with them and just imagine those rough contacts in the street where they brush you off or don’t respond to you and your invite because Jesus Christ was rejected as well. He knows exactly how you feel, to any point. Even to the point of bleeding from every pore. I don’t think I will ever make it to that point, but how grateful I am that He did so I wouldn’t have to. I only need to endure the little things in comparison. I love you all so much! We are truly one big happy family! Woo Hoo! Have a great week.

Love,
Sister Oldroyd
The big eater but more importantly the bigger hearted person :)