Surprise!

Ok- so I know ive been promising lots of updates for a few weeks but this week is super busy again. Our apartment has a big problem and all of the dirty water from our apartment block is rising in our kitchen and our house flooded. So we caught a taxi and are sleeping at the apartment of other sisters. Such a blessing lol. Dont worry, we are fine and we will all laugh about it much much later :)

I am currently in Foz de Iguaçu. We traveled all night on a bus, me and my companion, and are going on splits this week as Sister Training leaders. The surprise is that our president authorized me and my companion to go to the famous waterfalls today because it is pday and im freaking out im so excited! I will send pictures and postcards next week.

We found a man this week who almost was baptized with other sisters but is having trouble quitting to smoke, and we found him by some miracle and are starting to teach him and help him come back again. Huge miracle.

This week was definitely not easy, but I feel the Lord blessing us and protecting us. So many more things could have gone wrong and when my companion and I started to count our blessings during our hard times, everything became much easier.

I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that He lives. I know that when we pray, Heavenly Father hears us.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Please forgive me for not responding individually. SKype is coming up! It will be 1 hour and a half this year!

Another Busy Week

We had a mission tour with Elder and Sister Bassett and were so spiritually filled.

One thing I loved that Sister Bassett said was that we need to see ourselves in the Joseph Smith story. We all have or had the same doubts that he had. If we will see things from his perspective and ask God if these things are true, we will feel the truth of them through the Spirit.

The fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God is clear to me. I dont have doubts about that.

but if you do, ask God. He always sees us.

Quebec is my new area and I am loving it. Here are a few photos from this week.

Love you!

Happy 4th of Ju...wait. It's Thanksgiving!

Its just so stinkin´ hot, that i forgot its november!

This week was wonderful.

We had so many neat experiences teaching our investigators this week.

Vinicius is 17 years old. He wants to know Christ bette. We helped him and his dad stop smoking this week and stop drinking coffee. Vinicius smoked more or less 20 cigarettes everyday and hasnt smoked even one this week. He is progressing towards baptism which is exciting. He has a really sweet experience when he prayed about The Book of Mormon. He said he felt this peace and relief come over him and he knows that it is true. That is a miracle.

We are teaching another woman named Alaid. She studies the Bible everyday and has grown up catholic but is very receptive in learning more about Jesus Christ. We taught her about the gospel and repentance and baptism. We focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and then taught about the Restoration is His gospel. His church is truly on the earth today and The Book of Mormon is evidence of that. We introduced it to her and she is just feasting on it. She studies and marks her questions and is loving it. She is truly investigating and feeling the Spirit when she reads. It is truly fun to teach her.

There are two more families from this week that i really want to share about but my time is limited. I will try to write it all down and explain it when i have more time.

Summarizing, this week I had lots of experiences with the Spirit. People asked me questions that I, Megan, do not even know how to answer. But when the moment came, the Spirit whispered how to explain that certain thing and it was really cool because I felt like a true instrument. I did not know how to teach, but the Spirit taught through me. I love that.

This week I was studying part of a Brad Wilcox talk called The Law of the Gospel. It talks a lot about grace and the Atonement, and what it means to become. Im loving it. Here are some quotes to ponder on.

´´ Trying and slipping and trying again is not mocking God as much as it is honoring Him by using the gift of the Atonement that He and His son so lovingly have provided.´´

´´We don´t partake of the sacrament because we´re worthy, we partake of the sacrament because we are willing to become worthy. We dont go to church because we are perfect, we go because we are willing to be perfected. and we certainly dont go on a mission or go to the temple because we have ´´made it´´ in our mormon culture...we go to these sacred environments becxause it is there where the Lord is making us.´´

´´Enduring to the end does not mean living without errors, it means living in the covenant despite errors.´´

´´We often feel we have to qualify for the very ordinance and grace that makes us worthy.´´ (talking about the sacrament)

I love the scripture in Ether 12:27. I have come to understand it more and more on my mission.

The miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can change! He lived, bled, suffered, and died, so that we could apply His grace in our lives and change. We can become.

I love my Savior. I am so grateful for His mercy and His Atonement and the miracle of repentance. It is a privilege and a true honor to serve as a missionary for Him and to see Him change people´s lives. I am a living testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that He loves us. How could we ever doubt that? I love this gospel and testify that this is His restored church on the earth today that is led by a true prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson. The fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that He saw God and Jesus Christ and translated The Book of Mormon by the power of God is clear to me. I know these things by the power of the Holy Ghost. If you are not sure today, kneel down and ask God. Know for YOURSELF these truths.

Sister Penni

(some pictures from our zone pday and from this week)

another week!

This week was crazy! Here are some pictures from our adventures this week and ill send more later. I got to clean the baptismal font which means....yes you guessed it.... 2 baptisms im our ward! We have 2 companionships of sisters here and 2 people were baptized this weekend! We had the privilege of helping them teach  few of the lessons and it was so wonderful to see them get baptized. Clemildo and Sandra. It was a really special day.

Arapongas is great and we are excited to meet more investigators!

I love my companion, Sister Marshall and we are just happy here.

I love feeling the spirit so frequently here on my mission and i know that this is the church of Jesus Christ here on the earth. The Book of Mormon IS the word of God and we will draw closer to HIm as we read it!]

Boa semana, family!

P DAY Fun!

Pday de zona this week!

I will write more next week! I'm sorry I'm so short on time!

Please pray for our investigators! Help the missionaries this week! Give them a good reference and then go with them to the lesson. Bring somebody to church this week!

Michigan Companion!

Meet Sister Marshall from Michigan, USA!

My new companion!

Surprise, we were transferred AGAIN!

I am now in Arapongas serving with 2 other sisters and it is wonderful!

I absolutely love serving a mission and being a representative of Jesus Christ. Feeling the Spirit is a true blessing and i know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that we can always change. This is a gospel of change.

Because of Him, we can all decide and work to change our hearts and minds regardless of who we are, where we are from, or what we have done. I know that the Atonement is real and that Heavenly Father loves us. He has been very merciful with me in my life.

Have a wonderful week!!!

This week

Hi family! This week was great!

A recent convert and his wife had their first baby this week. Adorable.

I almost melted yesterday in the sun. Casual.

We also visited with one of our favorite recent convert members, Tereza.

This week we taught a lot of lessons and we are trying to find more people to teach. I know that the Lord will bless us as we work hard.

Marcos came to church again on sunday and is trying to quit smoking. He loves coming but is struggling with his addiction. He is learning how to pray this week.

Lorran came to church and is reading the book of mormon.

Jennifer came to church too and wants to know more about The Restoration.

On sunday, we got to teach gospel principles about eternal marriage and it was so cool to testify to them that i know of the blessings of the temple because two missionaries brought that to my house about 19 years ago. I loved feeling the spirit in that class.

Have a great week!

Sister Penni

SURPRISE!

SURPRISE!!

Maringá again! I was transferred last week!

Short on time. Will write better next week.

Fotos from this week!

General Conference

Hello!

Wow its been a while since I wrote a group email. Sorry!

This week I just learned so much. We had the privilege of watching Women´s Conference last night and my spirit was just so recharged and filled. I loved the inspired messages of our leaders and I loved watching from a Sister Missionary perspective. More than once, it was said that we need women who know and understand the doctrine of Christ. Lets study that this week. :)

We are trying to help our investigator, Robson, stop smoking and it is going really well. He is progressing and having more and more desire to be baptized.

We also met Eliete this week (or last week) who has a lot of struggles in her life with an ex husbahnd, 2 wayward kids, and a broken arm. A lot of times, she just needs us to listen to her but it was a powerful testimony to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of change and that no matter where we are on this path of mortality,m we can always come back.

Please pray for our investigators this week and lets all get ready for GENERAL CONFERENCE. 

Love you all!

Elder Andersen and Transfers

I will be staying here in Ala 3 in Londrina with Sister Lima!

This weekend was full of such a cool spirit meeting and listening to the words of Elder Neil L. Andersen. He brought with him and his wife such a sweet spirit and truly taught us the doctrine of Christ and I was so filled. I know without a doubt that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ and to hear one of Christ´s 12, testify of him was a powerful experience that i will never forget. He and his wife spoke in portuguese and a little in english too and that was really neat. The simple things in life really are the big things. What a great weekend and experience.

Im doing great here in Londrina and i just have such a strong testimony of the gospel. We all have to really endure to the end.

Today in our meetings, somebody bore testimony to enduring to the end. He said that that doesnt just mean until the end of the day, end of the week, end of the year, or end of our missions. The end is when our Savior and Redeemer comes again. That is the end of ends and the end to which we must endure.That when the signs of His Coming start to appear rapidly, we will not be afraid, but worthy to be called His people. The gospel of Jesus Christ has 5 simple steps, and all of us have already taken the first 4. Now, the 5th step, endure to the end, is our goal in this life. I want to present myself before the Lord ready. This is our goal as a family. Let us read the scriptures and converse with our Heavenly Father daily. Let us keep the commandments with exactness. Let us love our neighbor. I love my Savior and His gospel and it is a sacred privilege to carry His name in these last of the last days.

Christ lives and he reigns. He is resurrected. He loves us. The gospel has been restored in its fullness.

I love you guys!

Sister Penni

Baptism and Apostle!

Hello family!

This week Beatriz was baptized! She is such a good example to all of us because she really had a lot of fear about the water and this big choice in her life and she trusted in God enough to enter into the water and make this baptismal covenant. I am so proud of her! 

Also this weekend, we will have transfers!! 

Elder Neil L. Andersen is also coming this weekend and the stake im working in will have a meeting with him sunday morning, and then the missionaries just from our mission will meet with him all day monday! I am so excited! It will be a great experience!

Yes, this week I hit the halfway 9 months mark! Time sure passes!

Im doing great! Keep praying for our investigators. Read The Book of Mormon.

Love you all!

Sister Penni

Week 40!

This week is week 40 of my mission!

We worked really hard this week and had a lot of fun together!!

Our investigator, Beatriz is progressing well and we are just trying to help her accept the invitation to be baptized. Please pray for her.

Here are some pictures with my companion from this week!

Done with Dengue

This week we stayed at home because my companion was SUPER sick but i had a lot of time to study the scriptures and learn a lot!

I took the dengue vaccine this week so theres a plus!

The Lord is blessing us with miracles. Our investigator returned home this week from traveling and will hopefully be baptized this week. Her name is Bruna and she is a wonderful woman who is searching the The Christ in a time of a lot of challenges in her life. More details and pictures to come.

Also, the daughter of a recent convert in the ward went to church this sunday and we are goign to start teaching her. 

Although we didnt get to ´work´normal this week, the Lord is blessing us with people to teach.

Im so grateful for The Savior and all that He did and does for me. I know the Church is true. I love you all. 

Boa semana!!!

DENGUE!

Yep- it finally happened. Dengue hit. Luckily, i didnt catch it, but my poor companion, SIster Lima got dengue! This week has been filled with hospital visits, taking care of her, and thats about it. We worked really hard during the beginning of the week but then she got sick. 

However, the Lord blessed us with a miracle this week- Bruna. We met this humble family that is passing through many many many challenges and they went to church even though we didnt get the chance to and we are going to start teaching them. I am so touched by their humility and true desire to search for The Christ in their great times of need. We had the opportunity to talk with our mission president and his wife yesterday too because they brought soup for my companion and i so enjoyed the sweet spirit that they left in our apartment after they left.

I will try to take more photos this week; Love you all!

I know that this church is true and that Christ lives. Learn of Him.

Boa Semana!

Little London!!

Londrina means little london. This city is beautiful! Transfers went well and I am here in Londrina in the 3rd ward with my companion Sister Lima! She is wonderful!!!!

We arrived at our apartment SUPER LATE on monday night, and we live with another companionship of sisters, Sister Passos e Sister Fidelix. They are super cool!!!

We had pizza one night (picture below) and here are some other pictures with me and my companions/friends.

Our new area is great and our new ward is great too! Im just loving it here so far in Londrina! I can receive letters every week while im here in Londrina so thats cool too. Not a ton to report this week but here are some pictures!

Missionary work is such a blessing. Read the scriptures. Boa semana!!!

Sister Penni

Semana 36!!

Can you believe ive been on my mission for 36 weeks already?!

Transfers today! Im being transferred to the Big City lol. Londrina!!!

Im sad to leave the people here that ive worked with for almost 5 months but im happy for a new adventure in a new area and I have lots of high hopes and faith in the next area!

This week we saw miracles. Literally. We could not work on monday or tuesday because of conference with the new president (whom I love by the way) and friday, my companion was super sick so we passed the day at the health clinic. Between wednesday and thursday, we made a lot of contacts and knocked a lot of doors and got some addresses to return to on saturday. As we returned, we realized and go tto know that these people we had met were truly special and were chosen  and prepared for us to come back. FOUR OF THEM went to church with us for the first time on sunday and had a wonderful experience. How grateful I am to know that even though we could not do everything we wanted to this week, that as we prayed to know where to go, the Spirit guided ust o the people that angels were already preparing. I know for a fact that we are just instruments in the hands of God and I am so grateful for that privilege!

This week, we didn't have the chance to pass by one of the people we met this week because he wasn´t home. We arrived home saturday night and after calling a few people, decided to call him to remind him about church and see if he would go. Then a miracle happened. He told me on the phone that he will most definitely be going to church because RIGHT BEFORE i called, he was on his knees praying to God and the instant that he stood up, the phone rang and we were calling to invite him to church again. What a miracle and perfect timing. I testify that I did not do anything and that it was only because we are trying to follow the Spirit that this really sweet experience happened. My testimony and certainly his grew this weekend.

Sunday night, we were walking on one of the main Avenues of Maringá headed to teach some recent converts. We passed by a man who was in a wheelchair but really young and had one leg who was smoking. We passed by and for some reason I thought about him being baptized. As I was about to turn around and go back to talk to him, he said to us, Can I ask you guys a question? (hint- missionaries LOVE this question). He ended up explaining to us about his accident where he lost his leg and had lots of things happen to him. He had a  132 surgeries in each of two hospitals.  He smokes and drinks and has also been kicked out of many of the churches in Maringá because of physical disability. (how horrible, right?!) We told him to come to church on sunday and I felt the distinct impression to promise him that if he stopped using those substances, and followed the example of Jesus Christ being baptized by someone who holds authority of God that he will walk again. He told us it is his dream to be able to walk again. I doubted myself for an instant not wanting to promise something that wouldn't happen and received the answer to make him that promise with faith that it would happen. He accepted our help and will be receiving the missionary lessons this week to know which of all the churches is the true church of Jesus Christ. (also love when they ask about that.

You guys- The Spirit testifies in a powerful way when we are willing to follow his promptings. Angels are real and they speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Church is true and it is such a privilege to carry the name of the Savior as one of His representatives today. I am so thankful to be here learning so much. I know that Jesus Christ lives.

Have a great week! LOVE YOU ALL!