Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Hello everyone!

   Well, how are ya´ll doing? This week is thanksgiving, and I have no idea what day it is! Ha ha I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and eat to your heart’s content!

  This week was full of ALOT of walking, preaching, and inviting. I just need to take a minute to talk about how hot it is here.  I have to take 3 baths a day, because I sweat so much that my clothes become wet and nasty. The other day, I was standing in the sun and felt the skin on my feel literally burning. The Lord is protecting me because I haven’t gotten burned yet, but the sun is ridiculously strong! Even the people who live here think its hot, and wonder how we survive! OO how I am being tested here, because I don’t like the sun!

  But the work continues. I don’t really have many cool stories to share, or anything funny to say. I am just working a lot! I have to say that the Lord truly knows what he is doing, and that we NEVER KNOW what will happen. This is why we need to trust in him! I do know that I am learning so much here on the mission. I cannot even express the amount of gratitude I have for the Lord trusting me enough to do this work. It´s great! It´s difficult.  It’s tiring. It´s gratifying. It´s happy! And that’s why I am here, to bring happiness, true happiness to the lives of others.

  I also have to brag a little bit, just because I can. Last night I was so tired and zoning out while a bunch of teenage Brazilian girls were talking (and you know any teenage girl talks fast!) I realized in the middle of their conversation that I was completely keeping up and understanding everything without paying attention! I can converse, teach, sing, joke and understand in Portuguese! It is so cool to know that I speak another language- I never thought this day would come. Now i still have a lot to learn, and I am really hard on myself with this language, but I am proud. Only the Lord helped me do this. If anyone wants to know what the gift of tongues is, this is your definition. The Lord helping someone learns a language fluently in 6 months. Crazy!!

 Well have a good week everyone, I love you all and pray for you!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Love,  Sister Steph

A Sister Missionary Prep Day........and Pizza Hut!

What a wonderful week! I cannot express how wonderful it is to serve a mission. I have so much to say this week, and not enough time. Of course it always is like that yesterday we had a Sister´s prep day. Or in other words, a little bit of Heaven. We started the day with cinnamon rolls close to the beautiful beaches of Brazil. Then took a ton of pictures! A little shopping for tourist stuff, and then....PIZZA HUT! I cannot express how wonderful it was to eat normal pizza! The pizza here is a bit weird.. After we went to the mission president’s house and had an extremely spiritual testimony meeting, and after hung out. I cut hair while others did nails. IT was so fun! It was wonderful to get to know the other sisters and spend some time with my mission president.

This past week was wonderful. We worked really hard and have truly seen the blessings of the Lord in our area. Actually, we have too many blessings and people to teach that I am overwhelmed and feeling insufficient. But what a wonderful problem!

I can truly say that the Lord is right next to us as we work. I have seen miracles and had very special experiences that have helped me understand how close the Lord really is in our lives. I love testifying about the happiness we find in the church. We still have hard times, and challenges, but we always have a sure peace and a friend to turn to, our Savior. I am so grateful to be serving!

I hope everyone is doing well! Please let me know how you are- send letters! It’s been forever since I´ve received one, and I want to know how life is treating ya´ll!

Congratulations to Kim Harrison who is getting married this week. Kim- you´re in my thoughts and I am so happy for you. It breaks my heart that I won’t be there, but you have a friend in Brazil that is so happy and proud of you. I love you Kim! Congrats Jesse- you´ve got a wonderful future wife!
I love you all, and pray for you. Keep me in your prayers!
Love,
Sister Steph


Cinnamon Rolls! Yum!!




This is the point of brazil that is closest to Africa! Cool!


Do you think I'll ever be as tan as he is?!

Joao Pessoa


BRASIL!!!

Pizza Hut....Americana!

This is how I look everyday...notice the sweat mark across my shirt! Ugh! It's HOT HOT HOT here!

Working hard.......

Hello everyone!

I am tired. We worked so hard this week. Walking all day in the hot, hot sun really drains you out. We have been receiving many references, and trying to contact all of these people. Lately I have been feeling really overwhelmed though- let me explain. This area I have been in is extremely big. We take care of two wards, which is a huge area. One ward is really strong and trying to split- so wanting the missionaries to help. The other ward is really weak and needing some serious missionary help. So, it’s been difficult trying to use our time evenly for these two wards. I can’t even explain how much we walk here! I am praying that our mission president will put another set of sisters here soon, because it´s becoming too much!! But I am working and time is passing faster than ever. Crazzzzy! But I am not complaining, it’s wonderful to have stuff to do, people to contact and teach, and members who help! It’s too big of a blessing that I can´t handle all of it alone!

I had one experience that was special this week. About two months ago, we visited a less active member and her 13 other family members who are less active as well. We marked a FHE with her, but for some reason we forgot and never went. The other day, I was passing close to her house, and strongly felt that I should stop there and say, “HI”. I had felt really guilty for what happened, and almost didn’t want to say anything at all. But we talked to them, found out that they had planned a special FHE for us to come, and we didn’t show up. I felt AWFUL! But we talked with them, and apologized. That week we visited them, the Bishop visited and other members as well. She came to a ward activity with some other members of her family. This Sunday, she got up and bore her testimony. She said that she had been passing through a difficult time in her life and had prayed for direction. When I showed up that day, it was an answer to her prayer. She had been strong in the church for 14 years and less active for 10, but now she knows that this is the right place and I had been a great answer to her prayer! It felt so wonderful to see her there with her 4 grandchildren and I hope they continue strong.

Well I hope everyone is well. Christmas is coming up sometime in the future and I would love to get your Christmas cards! My letters are dwindling- so if you have extra time, PLEASE WRITE! I love to hear from you.

I love you all and you are in my prayers!

Love, Sister Gordon

Surviving the heat.............

We had a wonderfully HOT week! I think my body is starting to get used to the heat here, or I am just getting used to sweating A LOT. Either way, it’s still pretty hot. My companion and I have been working like crazy and I hope it will pay off. Having Sis. Machado as a companion has been really different. I feel a lot taller, (in fact, several people called me `tall` this week- Are they craaazy???) I have more seniority because people already know me, and I know the area. I am also teaching, talking and scheduling more than I ever did before. It´s been great! I have improved with the language; still have a lot to learn, but am feeling more and more comfortable every day.

I don’t really have TOOO much to say, seriously, I am getting so boring! We had Lulu’s baptism yesterday- it was so amazing. This girl has truly changed her life and felt so much joy in the gospel. She already was a happy person, but to see the huge smile she has at church is so wonderful. I have known her for a few months now, and we have become close friends. It´s so great to meet new people here and make true friendships. I am so happy for her!! I hope her twin ZeZe gets baptized next week- they are just great girls.

I have to say that seeing Elder Bednar talk last week changed a lot for me. It was such an incredible experience! One thing that meant a lot to me was his definition of Faith. He talked about how most people pray and just ask for things, and then are upset when they don’t happen. He proposed that we pray in a way that we first tell the Lord how we are going to act, or what we will do to receive the blessings we want. This week I have started to do this, and I have worked hard. The incredible thing is that when you follow through with what you tell the Lord you will do, He blesses you with that specific thing you asked for, as long as it is his will too. It’s been incredible! Now, every time I see the word Faith, I think Action. We need to act, and show the Lord that we deserve his blessings. It’s truly changed how I pray.

I am so grateful to be here. It´s my life now, and I am so happy here on the mission. Time isnt too important to me, or my own self isn’t too important. If you saw the way I am dressing, and wearing my hair, you would realize that I don’t care anymore! Ha ha sad I know. But the best part is seeing the smiles on people´s faces when they feel the Lord´s love in their life. Read your scriptures- say your prayers- Go to church- and ACT. I love you all! Till next week!

-Sister Gordon

OO- I totally forgot about Halloween yesterday. They don’t celebrate it here, and I was kind of sad when I remembered. Just because I really would like some good ´ol American candy right about now. The desserts here aren’t that great.. But I hope you had fun!