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my last email - Brusque week 77

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well that’s a wrap folks!  it honestly makes me a little sick to my stomach to think that this is the last week of my mission.  i never really thought i would be the one to say that i absolutely LOVED my mission, but here i am with one week left wishing I could relive it all over again.  it’s been long, hard, mentally/physically tough, and for sure has pushed me to my limits.  but eventually as i learned to put my fears and worries in the hands of the Lord, i began to find Him in everything around me.  everything I have experienced in the last 18 months, the good and the bad, has allowed me to rely on and know my Savior more than i ever thought possible.  before my mission, i knew nothing about the gospel.  nothing.  i became converted on my mission.  i truly believe that I was given this opportunity to be humbled enough to open my eyes and see Him there.  serving a mission was the hardest, yet BEST decision i have ever made.  i have never felt this kind of happiness before and i know
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last transfer, last area, last comp - Brusque week 71

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can i just start off by saying goodbyes are the absolute  worst?   i thought saying goodbye to family would be hard but little did i know the mission is just 18 months full of goodbyes and every time it gets harder.  with each area i leave behind, my heart breaks a little bit more.  but i am very aware of how blessed i am to have people in my life that make the goodbyes so hard. so to recap these last few weeks in Lages... 1. my comp and i got fleas last week for the 2nd time on my mission.  but hey i wouldn't feel at home in Lages if i didn't have fleas, or lice for that matter! haha!  but it's all good cause through our greatest afflictions brings greater joy:)  and i'll try not to bring my little friends back to Utah with me! 2. many thanks to an anonymous donor from back home, a humble family here in Lages now have a fridge AND a kitchen table. they were so happy and the mom, cristina told me with tears in her eyes that she has been praying to her heavenly f
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"divinely redirected" - Lages week 68

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hello gringos! some highlights from this week - after sharing a video about forgiveness and repentance to Cristana and Ivonir, 6 year Beatriz got up and said she needed to ask forgiveness for something.  so she went into her room, knelt by her bed, and came back a few seconds later saying "all done!"  tender stuff right?! - on friday, we were walking back from an appointment that had fallen through when we saw 2 young girls crying and arguing in the road.  we stopped and asked if they needed help with something.  one of the girls said she had lost her cellphone and her mom was going to be so mad.  we told them we would keep our eyes out for it, and asked her if she believed in the power of prayer.  she responded "yes."  we offered a prayer right there in the middle of the street, wished them well, and then went our separate ways.  not long after we left the girls, we looked at the ground and saw her cell phone untouched.  we picked it up and went running bac
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"by faith all things are fulfilled" - Lages week 66

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we saw miracles this week! sister maldonado and i have been setting one (different) goal every week and this week was to invite two people to be baptized and this is what happened: -leomar was baptized on friday, quit drinking coffee in two days and is already in 2 nephi of the BOM. and i tell you that because literally no one actually reads, let alone reads more, than what we tell them too... top demais! -jandira has been an investigator for 3 years . she wants to be baptized but has to get married first. we promised her that if she set a date for her baptism and had faith that ,if it be His will, Heavenly Father would help her achieve this goal. her boyfriend, who has never wanted to get married and always rejected the idea, agreed to signing the marriage papers this week! (if we brought them to him and he didn't have to pay anything hahah) this is a HUGE step! -wednesday we had a lesson with another investigator of 4 years.  he has been to church a handful of times but
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Another july in lages - Lages week 60

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hello everyone! these past couple weeks have been awesome here in lages. we had Jose´s baptism last week and this week put a couple on date for their baptism and a wedding at the end of this month :) i am really loving my area (even the cold), the members and my comp!   a good scripture from my personal study this week that i wanted to share!  “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”  love this a ton! alsoooooo happy fourth of july this week americans!! thanks to good old mama trish who sent us all things american, sister miller and i are feeling right at home ;) boa semana gente!   loves, sista kener
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A wedding, a baptism, and a life lesson - Lages week 63

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helllooooo! this week was one to remember! we had the wedding and baptism of Cristina and Ivonir and everything went SO well! they are the cutest fam ever. i couldn't be happier for them. be ready for a lotta pics :) i know i've been slacking in the email department lately so this is me making up for it - this week we were teaching our investigator Jandira when she started to cry telling us about the trials she was having in her life right now. she told us she was lost and confused and didn't know why God wasn't answering her. and because naturally we as missionaries tend to make other peoples' burdens our burdens, i got home that night and said a prayer with tears in my eyes wondering why Heavenly Father wasn't guiding her. the next morning i woke up and found the answer to my prayers: freaking AGENCY! haha. "But, behold, i say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right." YES, our lives would be a l
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Road Trip! - Lages week 64

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ola! this week is gonna be more pics than words but i wanted to share a quick/cool experience we had sunday! our area is super big and we have some cities that are almost two hours from our house and the church.  we can only go if we have referrals. but yesterday we had the opportunity to take a little road trip with some members from our ward to Urubici (2 hours away) to attend sacrament there in the member's home. this family consists of 8 people (all from uruguay). they are the only members in this city so they hold their own meeting every sunday in their very simple and modest home. this experience was probably one of the most spiritual experiences i have had on my mission. i got super emotional as soon as i walked into that house seeing all the kids dressed in their sunday best and two trays of sacrament on the table in the middle of the room. when the members from our ward invited us to go with them they told us "we are going there to give them a push of encouragement&qu
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