Week 31-Great letter!

OI Familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Minhas QUERIDAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week started out really difficult! No one was here. Carnival isn't dangerous where I am... is deserted, but we worked really hard and ended the week with a lot of miracles!!!!!!!
WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!! Her name is Gracelani! She is 9 years old; my comp baptized her family before I came but the father wouldn't let her be baptized because he felt she wasn't prepared. We have been working very hard with her and taught her for weeks! She has waited months to be baptized and this week, her father gave permission! She was so ready and excited! It was a beautiful baptism. And we had tons of investigators there! I will send pics next week!

We reactivated a man who has become very special to me. His name is Adnildo. He was baptized when he was 15 but the elders just baptized him, and he had problems with drinking. Its a very sad story. But we found him, through contacting!!!!!!!!! And found him married and now we are teaching his beautiful wife! Fingers crossed! She is amazing!

Here are some questions for you:
How is the retention on new members? It completly depends. It depends a lot. A lot of people are baptized wrong or just baptized and many fall away. Many stay firm if they were baptized right and if the members help. Especially the familes stay firm. Because they have each other. But to baptize a whole family is very rare. Many missionaries do not have an opportunity to baptize a whole family. It is very rare here. I feel very blessed.

How is your pizza maker's family? AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pedro is taking a priesthood prep class to prepare to recieve the M. priesthood and bishop has plans for him(: Pedrinho will pass the sacrament for the 1st time this week! Polyana went to FSY (EFY) and LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! Didnt want to leave!!!!!!! ahaha and little Henrique just loves primary. He says its his fav part of the week! He always sits with me during sacrament to look through my marked scriptures and photos (I use to teach)! haha
What other religions are there other than Catholic? Everyone you can think of. But there are bascially too groups the Catholics and the Evangleicos (Gospels- all different kinds of christain.) Here there is literaly thousands of churches on every street. Big small- one roomed- castles. haha and they sit right nexts to the others. Its all christian. But its really a war zone and we are stuck in the middle. haha If someone is Catholic they think we are evanglesticos and do not like us. And if they are evang. they do not like us because they think we are like the catholics and everyone talks bad about the others, because their preaches have whole days where they teach about the bad things that happen in other churches. SO we keep very positive with everyone and just testfiy about the church of Jesus Christ. The real and only true church. And if you want to know for yourself- open your heart, listen, and pray. And if you do it with real intention - he will answer. He always will answer. And you dont have to be doubting to ask.

Can you go to other churches? haha I have no idea. All of them are open and many actually have their church in the middle of the street. SO I see and hear all of them. Most are just grand shows with music and teachers loud and dancing. haha
Everyone invites us to their church and my comp loves to tell them we might be able to if you come to ours. Then they visit and we explain the restoration and we haven´t had a problem about it afterwards! haha (:

Thank you all for your love and support and letters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them all! And questions I love questions! haha
Ate mais! Have an amazing week! 

Sister Wheatley

Week 30 Carnival Week

Oi familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e amigos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this week was CARNIVAL! well actually its to tomorrow! But everyone starts celebrating Friiday the week before! It is like a desert here, everyone leaves for the beach. But we worked hard all week and literally talked with everyone who stayed in Guarabira. We taught around 44 lessons. But there was little to no one here to come to church this week. Even the members werent there.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Sunday, and today they have what are called blocs. These are BIG vans that drive around with singers on top. They sing and dance and a huge crowd follow behind. It is really fun to watch. Of course we do not sit and watch because we are working and I am pretty sure it breaks some kind of rule but we pass by because its always in the middle of our area. haha Carnival is a celebration of the carne or the body. It is really beautiful but people have twisted it to be something rather awful and its very sad. If you watch the movie Rio it shows it perfectly. 

Everyone is decorated in tons of colors, paints, big colorful crazy hats, and they love to throw around baby powder. hahahaha

Sushi was amazing. haha We celebrated my 7months and my comps 9 months. 9 meses or months are huge because thats the half way point and we always take photos like she is pregant! haha I love my comp so much she really has been a miracle for me.

Got a questions for you-you don't have i pads to work on right?  So what do you do on P Days when you write home?  ... We go to what we call Lan Houses --> internet cafes. We have to pay for the internet we use.

 

 Questions from others:

 

What is your typical schedule on most days?

6:30 wake up

6:45-7:15 excerise

8 study personal

9 study comp

10 study portuguese

10-12 work

12 LUNCH - we eat lunch with the members

1:30-9:30 work 

9:30-10 plan for the next day

Our work is lessons and contacts all day long. We plan lessons and inbetween the lesson as we walk we talk with people or knock on doors. And if we are hungry we grab food with vendors and eat and walk. My area is huge and is all hills so we do not have time to sit. haha we go go go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha 

But it is exactly that every day. And Sundays we 

9-12 is church

12-2 is lunch

2-9:30 is work (:

and P-day

6:30 clean house

8 study personal

9 study comp

10 go to the store

... sleep or watch a movie (we are allowed to watch all cartoon type movies, I just watch Disney.)

and sometime in between there we go to the lan house to write emails! 

 

Love you all thank you for all your love and support! Remember that when you are a member missionary you and your home will be strengthened!

-- 

Sister Wheatley

Week 29

Oi MINHA FAMILIA!

I love you all so much! Today I have 7 months in the mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AWW! Its crazy to think. I feel so blessed to be here! I am learning and growing so much! And I continue to see lives changed and I feel so blessed and happy to be a part!

This week will be short because we are extremly busy and we are going to celebrate my 7 months with SUSHI! Yes sushi we have a mall in my area that missionaries are allowed to enter because its actually just like a big sams club haha; And it has a sushi place! We are all so excited! haha I will send pics soon!

This week was hard because there is a Light festival going on here in Guarabira and when people party people party. hahaha It was hard to meet new people and nobody wanted to come to church including the members. We only had about 50 people in church and almost all of them where recent-converts haha.

But this week will be amazing! And I know full of many milagres/miracles!  Love ya all!!!!!!!!!!!  

Loved to hear about my baby cousins blessing! What an amazing moment! She is born into an amazing family by blessings and love. 

--

Sister Wheatley

Week 28

OI MINHA QUERIDAS!

haha hope everyone is amazing!!!!!!!! I love you all and thank you for your letters and emails!

This week we had more ..... RAIN! Yes rain! A ton of rain! haha and my shoes decided to give out and I went mud sliding!  Sadly I don't have pictures but I have the memory of mud staining everything and that's enough!  The mud here is a grayish clay and horrible to get out but was fun before I had to clean everything. 

SO WE HAD TRANSFERS AGAIN and I AM STAYING IN GUARBIRA WITH SISTER B FERRRIERA! I am soooooo happy!!!!!!!!!! And soooooooooo EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! This will be an amazing transfer! I love her so much! And this branch is hard but I love, love, and love the work here! There is so much to do! We are always running!

Speaking of running we started running in the mornings this week! Wish me luck. I am a little nervous! But it should be good!!!!

This week we had a special transmission come to all the missionaries around the world with the apostles. It was amazing I learned a lot and felt the spirit a ton! But the most profound part was actually the documentary about JC that we watched as we were waiting for the transmission. I learned a TON!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! Because of this I started to read Jesus the Christ this week and I am in LOVE! I love Jesus the Christ! Everyone needs to read it! To learn more about our Savior! I love my Savior and I am so humbled by his sacrifice for me!

LOVE YOU ALL! Remember who you are and who died for you!

Sister Wheatley

Week 27! Finished the story of Pedro and his family's conversion

Hi family and friends! another quick one!

I have no idea where I left off in my story ... but Pedro and his family prayed and read the Book of Mormon together and when we asked them about it they all where waiting on the edge of the chair just waiting to tell us they knew it was all true- haha they never visited the church but they all wanted to be baptized because they all prayed and new it all was true. When we talked about baptism with them they all shouted out we want to be baptized!!! When they came to church - they all wouldn't stop telling us how they knew this was the Church of Jesus Christ. They are incredible. They go to all the activities. Pedro and Pedrinho will receive the priesthood this week!!!!!!! They invite everyone to church! Their testimonies are incredible! They pray and read every day. They are all in 2 Nephi. Little Paulo Hen. even reads haha he teaches their dog. Its really cute. I am so proud of them and happy!!! I love this family so much! I feel so blessed to be able to be apart of their story- but really it was all them. I have so many stories with this family. They are amazing!! The other day they all where teaching little Paulo again all of the commandments. I began to cry. It was a moment very dear to my heart! They are so special!!! (:

This week we had a flash flood here. We where trapped in the house of the president of the branch for like 4.5 hours. haha it was really cool! I will send pics next week! It continues to RAIN A TON!!!!!!!!!!! and afterwards the sun is extremely hot and strong! 

Thank you for all who sent me emails and letters! You are all amazing! Love you all soooo much!!!!!!!!! I am trying to write and respond but that takes a lot of time!

TODAY- a rat! A RAT! got into our house and for an hour we worked to get him out! It was actually really fun but awful at the same time. AND he was not a little rat- HE WAS GIANT!!!!!!!!! But with our diligent missionary skills we got him out! hehe

LOVE YOU ALL!  Ate mais!

--

Sister Wheatley

Week 26 Baptism of Henrique Family -New Pictures

OI FAMILIA!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone is doing amazing!!!! THIS WAS AN AMAZING WEEK!!!!

We had a BAPTISM! But not just any baptism. A baptism of a family!!! Their story is amazing. The family of Pedro. 

The family is the Dad- Pedro and his children Polyana (14), Pedrinho (12) and Paulo Henrique!!!!! All we

The story-

We where hungry. (typical) and were craving pizza and we always talked about this one place we wanted to try. But it was in a neighborhood we never go because it is always deserted. But we decideded to do contacts there and the whole day was without success. Until we found the pizza place. And Pedro was standing in front about to start work and we stopped to ask him about his pizza. He actually was the person who makes the pizza! (later found out its the best pizza in all of Parabia!)

We marked a day with him and returned later that week. And now I am out of time to finish! I am so sorry! I will finish his story next week! Just know- he is incrediable and love this family so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ate mais!

SIster Wheatley!

Week 25-194 days gone

OI familia!!!!!!!!!!

This week was crazy!!!!!!!!! I don't have much time but I wanted to write a little for ya´ll! haha

This week was the new year!!! And we got to watch the fireworks for our apartment high up in the air! And I watched a firework explode in someones house. Actually it was our nieghbor. Luckily he is ok. But that was scary!!! haha

We are teaching so many families!!! I am so happy and excited!!! I love teaching familes!!! It is always a special thing to see a change in the lives of people but when you see a whole family change, it is incrediable!!!!!!!!! The joy you feel is like nothing else in the world. I love teaching the gospel! I love helping people know Christ better. This week was hard but beautiful!!! 

MY COMP is amazing! I love her to death!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHe is amazing! We work super well together and I love every moment!!!

I will send lots of pics! Love you all  

Oh and remember you dont need a new year to start over. But its a good time to do it (: hehe 

Sister Wheatley